red wine extract, resveratrol, on maintenance of organ function following trauma-hemorrhage | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 10 (2012): october 2012 / review articles red wine extract, resveratrol, on maintenance of organ function following trauma-hemorrhage authors fu-chao liu department of anesthesiology, chang gung memorial hospital huang-ping yu department of anesthesiology, chang gung memorial hospital doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i10.76 abstract resveratrol, is a polyphenol that can be extracted from grapes and red wine, possess potential anti-inflammatory effects, which would result in the reduction of cytokine production, the alteration of the expression of adhesion molecule molecules, and the inhibition of neutrophil function. resveratrol might also act as an antioxidant, anti-aging, and control of cell cycle and apoptosis. resveratrol has been shown to have protective effects for patients in shock-like states. such protective phenomenon is reported to be implicated in a variety of intracellular signaling pathways including the regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (mapk)/ hemeoxygenase-1 (ho-1) pathway, activates estrogen receptor (er), and the mediation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species (ros) formation and reactive. moreover, through anti-inflammatory effects and antioxidant properties, the resveratrol is believed to maintain organ function following trauma-hemorrhage. key words: resveratrol, anti-inflammatory, trauma-hemorrhage. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-10-23 issue vol. 2 no. 10 (2012): october 2012 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com secretion of angiopoietin-like 4 protein from intestinal cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 / research articles secretion of angiopoietin-like 4 protein from intestinal cells authors soren drud nielsen department of food science, aarhus university, denmark randi jessen department of food science, aarhus university, denmark trine kastrup dalsgaard department of food science, aarhus university, denmark jette feveile young department of food science, aarhus university, denmark doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i2.171 abstract background: angiopoietin-like 4 (angptl4) has been suggested to play a role in lipid metabolism as a regulatory protein of lipoprotein lipase activity. intestinal secretion of angptl4, which is regulated by fatty acids, may inhibit the activity of circulating lipoprotein lipase; but, recent studies suggest that it could also inhibit pancreatic lipase in the gut and thereby reduce intestinal uptake of lipids. secretion of the angptl4 protein to either the lumen or tissue/blood side of the intestinal epithelial layer would indicate possible modes of action. methods: caco-2 cells were grown on permeable membranes and cultured for 21 days to spontaneously differentiate into an intact monolayer of intestinal cells, mimicking the epithelial cell layer lining the intestinal wall. cells were treated with 9 mm butyrate and the time dependent gene expression and protein secretion to the apical and basolateral side was analysed over a time-course of 24 hours. possible feedback from angptl4 protein was investigated by adding 0.25 ng/ml recombinant angptl4 protein to culture media. results: butyrate-induced angptl4 gene expression increased in caco-2 cells after 2 hours, reaching a plateau of approximately 6 fold after 6-24 hours, while the angptl4 protein secretion to both the apical and basolateral sides was increased 18-24 hours after stimulation. a negative feedback on apical and basolateral secretion was observed in the presence of recombinant angptl4 on the apical and basolateral sides, respectively. conclusion: the present study indicates that, upon exposure to butyrate, the monolayer of epithelial cells secretes the angptl4 protein to both the tissue/blood (basolateral) side and the luminal (apical) side of the monolayer which, in an in vivo situation, may be interpreted as potential inhibition of both the circulating and pancreatic lipase. keywords: angiopoietin-like 4, caco-2, permeable membrane, protein, secretion, intestine, negative feedback downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-02-15 issue vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com european health claims for small and medium-sized companies – utopian dream or future reality? | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 / review articles european health claims for small and medium-sized companies – utopian dream or future reality? authors sonja brandenburger department of nutritional, food and consumer sciences, university of applied sciences fulda, fulda, germany marc birringer department of nutritional, food and consumer sciences, university of applied sciences fulda, fulda, germany doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i2.170 abstract background: in december 2007, the european regulation (ec) 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims came into force. the european union wanted to regulate the use of health claims on products. an online survey was carried out to evaluate the situation, particularly of small and medium-sized companies, dealing with the new regulation. methods: the online survey on health claims was conducted with 16 enterprises. to underline the findings a swot (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis was made of the nutrition and health claims regulation regarding small and medium-sized companies in the european food and drink market. results: the findings of this study indicated that the european union did a step in the right direction. most companies defined the decent competition, the simplified trade within the inner-european market, and the consumer protection as positive aspects. the biggest threat is seen in false investment conditioned by the limited research and development budgets, especially of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the cost intensive scientific evaluation to reach an authorized health claim. conclusions: overall, there are several strengths and opportunities speaking for smes and health claims in the near future. the most promising ones are the publishing of the new european union register of nutrition and health claims and the learning effects that will occur. the biggest threat is, and will remain to be, false investment and the possible loss of a lot of money. nevertheless, health claims for small and medium-sized enterprises will inevitably be the future to keep the european food and drink market competitive. keywords: health claims, european legislation, sme downloads [abstract] [full article] untitled published 2015-02-11 issue vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com lipid replacement therapy: a functional food approach with new formulations for reducing cellular oxidative damage, cancer-associated fatigue and the adverse effects of cancer therapy | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 4 (2011): april 2011 / review articles lipid replacement therapy: a functional food approach with new formulations for reducing cellular oxidative damage, cancer-associated fatigue and the adverse effects of cancer therapy authors garth l. nicolson department of molecular pathology, the institute for molecular medicine, huntington beach, ca 92647 robert settineri sierra research, irvine, ca, 92606 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i4.134 abstract background: cancer-associated fatigue and the chronic adverse effects of cancer therapy can be reduced by lipid replacement therapy (lrt) using membrane phospholipid mixtures given as food supplements. methods: this is a review of the published literature on lrt and its uses. results: lrt significantly reduced fatigue in cancer patients as well as patients suffering from chronic fatiguing illnesses and other medical conditions. it also reduced the adverse effects of chemotherapy, resulting in improvements in incidence of fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, impaired taste, constipation, insomnia and other quality of life indicators. in other diseases, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome and other chronic fatiguing illnesses, lrt reduced fatigue by 35.5-43.1% in different clinical trials and increased mitochondrial function. conclusions: lrt formulations appear to be useful as non-toxic dietary supplements for direct use or placed in functional foods to reduce fatigue and restore mitochondrial and other cellular membrane functions. formulations of lrt phospholipids are suitable for addition to various food products for the treatment of a variety of chronic illnesses as well as their application in anti-aging and other health supplements and products. keywords: nutritional supplements, nt factor®, coenzyme q10, cancer fatigue, mitochondria downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-04-21 issue vol. 1 no. 4 (2011): april 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com magnolol affects cellular proliferation, polyamine biosynthesis and catabolism-linked protein expression and associated cellular signaling pathways in human prostate cancer cells in vitro | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 1 (2015): january 2015 / research articles magnolol affects cellular proliferation, polyamine biosynthesis and catabolism-linked protein expression and associated cellular signaling pathways in human prostate cancer cells in vitro authors brendan t. mckeown department of biology, university of prince edward island, 550 university ave., charlottetown, pe, canada, c1a4p3 robert a. r. hurta department of biology, university of prince edward island, 550 university ave., charlottetown, pe, canada, c1a4p3 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i1.163 abstract background: prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in men in canada and the united states. both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development and progression of many cancers, including prostate cancer. context and purpose of this study: this study investigated the effects of magnolol, a compound found in the roots and bark of the magnolia tree magnolia officinalis, on cellular proliferation and proliferation-linked activities of pc3 human prostate cancer cells in vitro. results: pc3 cells exposed to magnolol at a concentration of 80 μm for 6 hours exhibited decreased protein expression of ornithine decarboxylase, a key regulator in polyamine biosynthesis, as well as affecting the expression of other proteins involved in polyamine biosynthesis and catabolism. furthermore, protein expression of the r2 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase, a key regulatory protein associated with dna synthesis, was significantly decreased. finally, the mapk (mitogen-activated protein kinase), pi3k (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase), nfκb (nuclear factor of kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated b cells) and ap-1 (activator protein 1) cellular signaling pathways were assayed to determine which, if any, of these pathways magnolol exposure would alter. protein expressions of p-jnk-1 and c-jun were significantly increased while p-p38, jnk-1/2, pi3kp85, p-pi3kp85, p-akt, nfκbp65, p-iκbα and iκbα protein expressions were significantly decreased. conclusions: these alterations further support the anti-proliferative effects of magnolol on pc3 human prostate cancer cells in vitro and suggest that magnolol may have potential as a novel anti-prostate cancer agent. key words: prostate cancer cells, magnolol, polyamines, mapk, pi3k, nfκb downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-01-08 issue vol. 5 no. 1 (2015): january 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com intake of mung bean protein isolate reduces plasma triglyceride level in rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 / research articles intake of mung bean protein isolate reduces plasma triglyceride level in rats authors nobuhiko tachibana basic research institute, research and development division, fuji oil co., ltd., 1-sumiyoshi-cho, izumisano-shi, osaka 598-8540 satoshi wanezaki basic research institute, research and development division, fuji oil co., ltd. mayuko nagata basic research institute, research and development division, fuji oil co., ltd. takayasu motoyama basic research institute, research and development division, fuji oil co., ltd. mitsutaka kohno basic research institute, research and development division, fuji oil co., ltd. sayuri kitagawa basic research institute, research and development division, fuji oil co., ltd. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i9.39 abstract background: mung bean is well known as a starch source, but the physiological effects of mung bean protein have received little attention. in this study, we isolated mung bean protein from de-starched mung bean solutions, and investigated its influence on lipid metabolism. objective: the aim of this study is to clarify the influence of the lipid metabolism by consumption of mung bean protein isolate (mpi) methods: diets containing either mung bean protein isolate (mpi) or casein were fed to normal rats for 28 days. results: both groups ate the same amount of food, but the plasma triglyceride level, relative liver weight and liver lipid contents (cholesterol and triglyceride pool) in the mpi group were significantly lower than in the casein group. in the mpi group, the expression of sterol regulatory-element binding factor 1 (srebf1) mrna in the liver was significantly different when compared with the casein group. the significantly lower levels of insulin and free fatty acids in the mpi-fed rats may be due to the regulation of genes related to lipid metabolism in the liver. conclusions: these results suggest that mpi may improve the plasma lipid profile by normalizing insulin sensitivity. keywords: mung bean, vigna radiata l., 8s globulin, triglyceride, β-conglycinin, 7s globulin, insulin sensitivity, srebf1 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-09-30 issue vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com developing an effective food supplement for the prevention of osteoporosis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 / research articles developing an effective food supplement for the prevention of osteoporosis authors ping-chung leung jockey club centre for osteoporosis care and control, the chinese university of hong kong, hksar erik chun-hay ko institute of chinese medicine, the chinese university of hong kong, hksar sammy wing-sum siu institute of chinese medicine, the chinese university of hong kong, hksar ellie suet-yee pang institute of chinese medicine, the chinese university of hong kong, hksar king-fai cheng institute of chinese medicine, the chinese university of hong kong, hksar yat-heung chan jockey club centre for osteoporosis care and control, the chinese university of hong kong, hksar doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i9.120 abstract background: aging is accompanied by a gradual loss of bone mineral contents which might lead to a higher rate to fractures. in the past twenty years, many pharmaceuticals are created to prevent bone loss. most effective drugs only suppress bone resorption, the result of which is a loss of the normal balance of bone metabolism. anti-resorptive drugs have already shown complications arising from the loss of balanced metabolism. therefore it becomes clear now that prevention of bone mineral loss through a natural maintenance process will be more beneficial for those not under special risks. drug treatment could be researched for those who already developed severe osteoporosis. there are many medicinal herbs in chinese medicine known to be supporting bone health. three of those herbs, herba epimedii, fructus ligustri lucidi and fructus psoralea (elp) were chosen to make a formula for the prevention of osteoporosis. result: one hundred and fifty postmenopausal osteopenic women were recruited, randomized and allocated to the herbal group (elp) or placebo group. after 12 months of consumption of herbal formula, bone mineral maintenance was found when the bone mineral density (bmd) of the femur and tibia were as assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (dexa) and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pqct) machines. no adverse effects were found. conclusion: the clinical study using elp was designed as a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the agent used. the results showed positive support on the bmd of all bone tested. however statistical difference between the herbal and placebo group reached the significant level only in the proximal tibia and those who experienced menopause for more than ten years. this finding well indicates that elp is good for preventive but does not satisfy the demand of a treatment agent. elp could be recommended to those under the early threat of osteoporosis, i.e. osteopenia, to be used as a preventive agent. keywords: osteoporosis, post-menopause women, herbal supplement, functional food. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-09-29 issue vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com supplementation of selenium-enriched yeast attenuates age-dependent transcriptional changes of heart in mitochondrial dna mutator mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 3 (2014): march 2014 / research articles supplementation of selenium-enriched yeast attenuates age-dependent transcriptional changes of heart in mitochondrial dna mutator mice authors rijin xiao department of life sciences, alltech, nicholasville, kentucky 40356 leya spangler department of life sciences, alltech, nicholasville, kentucky 40356 katie routt department of life sciences, alltech, nicholasville, kentucky 40356 zijian lan department of life sciences, alltech, nicholasville, kentucky 40356 carrie johnson department of life sciences, alltech, nicholasville, kentucky 40356 tomas a prolla departments of genetics and medical genetics, university of wisconsin, madison, wisconsin, 53705 ronan f power department of life sciences, alltech, nicholasville, kentucky 40356 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i3.22 abstract background: age is a major risk factor in developing heart diseases and has been associated with profound transcriptional changes in mammalian tissues. low tissue selenium has recently been linked to several age-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease. this study investigated the global effects of age and dietary supplementation of selenium on heart transcriptional profiles in polg mutator mice. methods: heart transcription profiles from young (2-month-old) and old (13-month-old) animals fed either a control diet or a diet supplemented with 1.0 mg selenium from selenium-enriched yeast (sp)/kg diet were obtained and validated using microarray and real-time rt-pcr techniques. results: aging led to significant transcriptional changes, where the expression of 1942 genes in old animals was changed by a fold change larger than 2.0, when compared to young animals. age-regulated genes are associated with cardiovascular system development, immune and inflammatory response, and cellular oxidative stress response. multiple genes linked with cardiomyocyte apoptosis, hypertrophy, and cardiac fibrosis, such as myh7, lcn2, spp1, and serpine1, were significantly up-regulated in old animals. sp supplementation also caused significant transcriptional changes in the heart, especially in old mice where many age-dependent transcriptional changes were totally or partially reversed by sp. upstream regulator analysis further indicated that genes for foxo1 and foxo3, two transcriptional regulators involved in the regulation of cardiac muscle remodeling, were significantly activated by sp, suggesting that foxo-mediated transcriptional activities play important roles in the anti-aging properties of sp. conclusions: results of this study indicate that sp supplementation attenuated age-related transcriptional changes in the heart of old polg mice, which implies a potential clinical application of dietary selenium in preventing decline of cardiac function in old animals.  key words: aging, heart, gene expression, selenium downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-03-31 issue vol. 4 no. 3 (2014): march 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com protein hydrolysates and recovery of muscle damage following eccentric exercise | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 1 (2015): january 2015 / research articles protein hydrolysates and recovery of muscle damage following eccentric exercise authors dale m.j alliance for research in exercise, nutrition and activity (arena), sansom institute for health research and school of health sciences, university of south australia, adelaide, australia; thomson r.l alliance for research in exercise, nutrition and activity (arena), sansom institute for health research and school of health sciences, university of south australia, adelaide, australia; coates a.m alliance for research in exercise, nutrition and activity (arena), sansom institute for health research and school of health sciences, university of south australia, adelaide, australia; howe p.r.c alliance for research in exercise, nutrition and activity (arena), sansom institute for health research and school of health sciences, university of south australia, adelaide, australia; clinical nutrition research centre, university of newcastle, newcastle, australia; brown a murray goulburn co-operative co. ltd, melbourne, australia buckley j.d alliance for research in exercise, nutrition and activity (arena), sansom institute for health research and school of health sciences, university of south australia, adelaide, australia; doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i1.164 abstract background: a whey protein hydrolysate (natraboost xr; wphnb) has been shown to speed repair muscle damage. we sought to determine whether this benefit is specific to this hydrolysate to evaluate a marker for quality control. methods: three hydrolysates of the same whey protein isolate (wpi) were prepared (wphnb, wph1 and wph2). isometric knee extensor strength was measured in 39 sedentary male participants before and after 100 maximal eccentric contractions of the knee extensors to induce muscle damage. participants were then randomised to consume 250 ml of flavoured water (fw, n=9), or 250 ml of fw containing 25 g of either natraboost xr (n=3), wph1 (n=9), wph2 (n=9) or wpi (n=9). strength was reassessed over the next seven days while the supplements were consumed daily. fibroblasts were cultured for 48 hr in the presence of the different hydrolysates, wpi, saline or fetal bovine serum to ascertain effects on cell proliferation. results: strength was reduced in all treatment groups after eccentric exercise (p<0.001). strength recovered steadily over 7 days in the fw, wpi, wph1 and wph2 treatment groups (p<0.001), with no difference between treatments (p=0.87). wphnb promoted faster strength recovery compared with the other treatments (p<0.001). fibroblast proliferation was greater with wphnb compared with saline, wpi or the other hydrolysates (p<0.001). conclusions: promoting recovery from muscle damage seems unique to wphnb. in vitro fibroblast proliferation may be a useful marker for quality control. it is not clear whether effects on fibroblast proliferation contribute to the in vivo effect of wphnb on muscle damage. keywords: tissue repair, fibroblast proliferation, strength recovery, whey protein downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-01-31 issue vol. 5 no. 1 (2015): january 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com nonculturable forms of bacteria in lyophilized probiotic preparations | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 2 (2014): february 2014 / research articles nonculturable forms of bacteria in lyophilized probiotic preparations authors larisa blinkova fgbu “mechnikov research institute of vaccines and sera”, russian academy of medical sciences, moscow, 105064 danik m martirosyan functional food center inc., richardson, tx 75080 yury pakhomov fgbu “mechnikov research institute of vaccines and sera”, russian academy of medical sciences, moscow, 105064 olga dmitrieva fgbu “mechnikov research institute of vaccines and sera”, russian academy of medical sciences, moscow, 105064 rachel vaughan functional food center inc., richardson, tx 75080 michael altshuler fgbu “mechnikov research institute of vaccines and sera”, russian academy of medical sciences, moscow, 105064 r doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i2.29 abstract background: nonculturable cells are formed under stress. these viable but nonculturable (vbnc) cells retain the ability to revert to active growth and division when conditions become favorable, or after treatment with resuscitating factors. information about the possible presence of vbnc in bacterial lyophilized probiotic preparations, foodstuffs, live vaccines, etc., indicates that human as well as animal intestines are a significant area for research. methods: samples were stored for different periods of time (up to 30 years) according to the manufacturers’ manuals. total counts were conducted using the goryaev-thoma counting chamber and actual viability was assessed by luminescence microscopy after staining with live/dead® (baclight™). cfu/ml counts were made using solid or semisolid media. viable cells that lacked the ability to form colonies were considered vbnc. results: we studied 11 batches of commercial probiotics (russia) from different sources, containing lyophilized e. coli, lactobacilli, or bifidobacteria, in ampoules or vials. in e. coli preparations, depending on storage periods, the amounts of vbnc varied from 4.1% (3 years) to 99.7% (30 years) and showed different total viability (52.2 – 91.3%), as well as the percentage of vbnc cells. a different sample that had been expired for 11 years was 79.5% nc. it is also noteworthy that the 5-dose vials, 4 years past expiration, from yet another source, showed a higher amount of vbnc cells (85.5%). two different batches that had been expired for three years contained 4.1 and 21.3% vbnc cells. 4 of the 5-dose vials of lyophilized lactobacilli were not expired and contained 58.8 – 80.4% vbnc cells. total viability varied from 92.9 to 100%, and there was an unmistakable positive correlation between total viability and culturability. the last batch, which had expired 6 years earlier, has 23.7% viable cells and about 98% vbnc. non-expired bifidobacterial samples contained 70.7 and 95.5% of viable cells and were 50 and 100% culturable.  conclusion: we demonstrated the presence of vbnc cells in lyophilized probiotic preparations that contained live bacteria. probiotics stored past their expiration date may retain a high potential medical effect because they contained high numbers of viable cells. vbnc cells in studied preparations may have the potential to return to an actively growing state. keywords: nonculturable forms of bacteria, probiotics downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-02-09 issue vol. 4 no. 2 (2014): february 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com blood homocysteine and fasting insulin levels are reduced and erythrocyte sedimentation rates increased with a glycophospholipid-vitamin formulation: a retrospective study in older subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 4 (2015): april 2015 / research articles blood homocysteine and fasting insulin levels are reduced and erythrocyte sedimentation rates increased with a glycophospholipid-vitamin formulation: a retrospective study in older subjects authors rita r. ellithorpe tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780, usa robert settineri sierra research, irvine, california 92606, usa talon ellithorpe tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780, usa garth l. nicolson department of molecular pathology, the institute for molecular medicine, huntington beach, california 92647, usa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i4.177 abstract background: elevations in homocyteine (hcys) levels in the blood have been correlated with increased risk for coronary heart disease and stroke, loss of cognition and memory, and other chronic medical conditions. objective: a retrospective study was initiated to determine if hcys levels and other blood markers were altered in subjects taking an oral functional food supplement containing a mixture of phosphoglycolipids (nt factor®) and vitamins. methods: thirty-five patients (28 females, 7 males, av. age=60.7±9.6 years) who had used the functional food advanced physician’s formulatm with ntfactor® in tablet form each day were enrolled in a retrospective study on blood chemistry. this retrospective study followed a prospective study on the use of the same supplement to reduce fatigue in patients with chronic fatigue. participants were patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic encephalomyelitis) or other fatiguing illnesses. subjects had blood drawn over a 6-month period, and routine blood testing was performed. in this laboratory study the results were analyzed for differences, and statistical analyses were performed. results: all participants responded in the study and showed an average reduction of 31.8% in hcys levels (from 10.85±0.42 to 7.40±0.42 µmol/l; t-test, p<0.001; wilcoxon, p<0.001). women responded better than men: women (from 11.06±0.50 to 8.67±0.82 µmol/l, 34.4% reduction, t-test, p< 0.001; wilcoxon, p<0.001) versus men (from 10.80±0.51 to 7.01±0.47 µmol/l, 21.6% reduction, t-test, p< 0.0862). differences were also found in fasting insulin levels (from 12.80±3.11 to 5.30±1.77 µiu/ml, 58.6% reduction, t-test, p<0.005) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (esr). esr increased from 10.5±2.21 to 20.19±3.20 mm/hr (92.2% increase, t-test, p<0.0314; wilcoxon, p<0.0154). other tests were not significantly different after 6 functional foods in health and disease 2015; 5(4): 126-135 page 127 of 135 months of supplement, there were no side effects from the test supplement, and none of the participants had any cardiovascular events during the study. conclusions: the test formulation was an effective method to reduce hcys and fasting insulin blood levels and increase esr rates in older subjects without adverse effects. keywords: lipid replacement therapy, nt factor®, fatigue, homocysteine, blood insulin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, vitamin b complex downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-04-12 issue vol. 5 no. 4 (2015): april 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com krill protein hydrolysate reduces plasma triacylglycerol level with concurrent increase in plasma bile acid level and hepatic fatty acid catabolism in high-fat fed mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 11 (2013): november 2013 / research articles krill protein hydrolysate reduces plasma triacylglycerol level with concurrent increase in plasma bile acid level and hepatic fatty acid catabolism in high-fat fed mice authors marie s. ramsvik department of clinical science, university of bergen, n-5020 bergen bodil bjørndal department of clinical science, university of bergen, n-5020 bergen rita vik department of clinical science, university of bergen, n-5020 bergen inge bruheim olympic seafood as, n-6080 myrvaag jon skorve department of clinical science, university of bergen, n-5020 bergen rolf k. berge department of clinical science, university of bergen, n-5020 bergen doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i11.34 abstract background: krill powder, consisting of both lipids and proteins, has been reported to modulate hepatic lipid catabolism in animals. fish protein hydrolysate diets have also been reported to affect lipid metabolism and to elevate bile acid (ba) level in plasma. ba interacts with a number of nuclear receptors and thus affects a variety of signaling pathways, including very low density lipoprotein (vldl) secretion. the aim of the present study was to investigate whether a krill protein hydrolysate (kph) could affect lipid and ba metabolism in mice. method: c57bl/6 mice were fed a high-fat (21%, w/w) diet containing 20% crude protein (w/w) as casein (control group) or kph for 6 weeks. lipids and fatty acid composition were measured from plasma, enzyme activity and gene expression were analyzed from liver samples, and ba was measured from plasma. results: the effect of dietary treatment with kph resulted in reduced levels of plasma triacylglycerols (tag) and non-esterified fatty acids (nefas). the kph treated mice had also a marked increased plasma ba concentration. the increased plasma ba level was associated with induction of genes related to membrane canalicular exporter proteins (abcc2, abcb4) and to ba exporters to blood (abcc3 and abcc4). of note, we observed a 2-fold increased nuclear farnesoid x receptor (fxr) mrna levels in the liver of mice fed kph. we also observed increased activity of the nuclear peroxiosme proliferator-activated receptor alpha (pparα) target gene carnitine plamitoyltransferase 2 (cpt-2). conclusion: the kph diet showed to influence lipid and ba metabolism in high-fat fed mice. moreover, increased mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and elevation of ba concentration may regulate the plasma level of tags and nefas. key words: krill protein hydrolysate, triacylglycerol, fatty acids, tnfα downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-11-18 issue vol. 3 no. 11 (2013): november 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com nutrigenomics of neuradaptogen amino-acid-therapy and neurometabolic optimizers: overcoming carbohydrate bingeing and overeating through neurometabolic mechanisms | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 / review articles nutrigenomics of neuradaptogen amino-acid-therapy and neurometabolic optimizers: overcoming carbohydrate bingeing and overeating through neurometabolic mechanisms authors kenneth blum department of psychiatry, university of florida, college of medicine, mcknight brain institute, gainesville, florida debasis bagchi innovative research and clinical trials, iovate inc., toronto abdalla bowirrat clinical neuroscience and population genetics, ziv government medical center b. william downs department of personalized medicine, reward deficiency solutions, llc, san diego, california roger l. waite department of personalized medicine, reward deficiency solutions, llc, san diego, california john giordano deaprtment of holistic medicine, g and g hoistic addiction treatment center, north miami beach siohban morse deaprtment of holistic medicine, g and g hoistic addiction treatment center, north miami beach margaret madigan department of personalized medicine, reward deficiency solutions, llc, san diego, california jaclyn m. downs department of personalized medicine, reward deficiency solutions, llc, san diego, california eric r. braverman department of clinical neurology, path foundation ny, new york, new york margaret polanin department of neurological surgery, weill cornell college of medicine, new york, new york debmayla barh centre for genomics and applied gene technology, institute of integrative omics and applied biotechnology (iioab), nonakuri, purba medinipur, west bengal 721172 frank fornari dominion diagnostics inc. north kingstown, rhode island thomas simpatico community mental health institute, center for clinical & translational science, university of vermont and department of psychiatry, university of vermont college of medicine, burlington, vermont doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i9.121 abstract despite progress that has been made in the treatment of obesity, the epidemic continues to rise worldwide. while pharmacological treatment of obesity may be effective, medications may have significant side effects and can be potentially fatal. this review will provide significant evidence to substantiate the existence of reward deficiency syndrome in obesity and the role of catecholaminergic pathways in aberrant substance seeking behavior, in particular cravings for carbohydrates. the genetic basis for generalized craving behavior will be established. evidence to support the augmentation of precursor amino acid therapy and enkephalinase, moa and comt inhibition leading to enhanced levels of neurotransmitters: serotonin, enkephalins, gaba and dopamine/norepinephrine as well increasing insulin sensitivity (affecting dopamine neuronal synthesis regulation) through the use of certain neurometabolic optimizers will also be provided. this review article cites many published studies to support a conceptual paradigm shift towards the use of this proposed nutrigenomic formula. the analysis and research preceding this formulation is outlined. this formulation has a generalized anti-craving effect and can inhibit carbohydrate bingeing, inducing significant healthy fat loss and prevention of relapse. this is the first time that components of this formula have been combined, at the dosage levels indicated with the goal of promoting successful and sustainable body recomposition. we are encouraging other laboratories to further evaluate neuroadtagen amino-acid therapy (naat)/nurometabolic optimizers as a putative anti-obesity complex in larger controlled blinded studies and await interpretation of must these needed studies. keywords: naat, dopamine, genes, polymorphisms, obesity, craving behavior, overeating, reward deficiency syndome, nutrigenomics. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-09-29 issue vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com bioactive form of resveratrol in glioblastoma cells and its safety for normal brain cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 / research articles bioactive form of resveratrol in glioblastoma cells and its safety for normal brain cells authors xiao-hong shu liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 hong li liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 xiao-xin sun liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 zheng sun liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 li-li wang liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 xue song liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 shun shi liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 mo-li wu liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 xiao-yan chen liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 qing-you kong liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 liu jia liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i5.57 abstract background: resveratrol, a plant polyphenol existing in grapes and many other natural foods, possesses a wide range of biological activities including cancer prevention. it has been recognized that resveratrol is intracellularly biotransformed to different metabolites, but no direct evidence has been available to ascertain its bioactive form because of the difficulty to maintain resveratrol unmetabolized in vivo or in vitro. it would be therefore worthwhile to elucidate the potential therapeutic implications of resveratrol metabolism using a reliable resveratrol-sensitive cancer cells. objective: to identify the real biological form of trans-resveratrol and to evaluate the safety of the effective anticancer dose of resveratrol for the normal brain cells. methods: the samples were prepared from the condition media and cell lysates of human glioblastoma u251 cells, and were purified by solid phase extraction (spe). the samples were subjected to high performance liquid chromatography (hplc) and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (lc/ms) analysis. according to the metabolite(s), trans-resveratrol was biotransformed in vitro by the method described elsewhere, and the resulting solution was used to treat u251 cells. meanwhile, the responses of u251 and primarily cultured rat normal brain cells (glial cells and neurons) to 100μm trans-resveratrol were evaluated by multiple experimental methods. results: the results revealed that resveratrol monosulfate was the major metabolite in u251 cells. about half fraction of resveratrol monosulfate was prepared in vitro and this trans-resveratrol and resveratrol monosulfate mixture showed little inhibitory effect on u251 cells. it is also found that rat primary brain cells (pbcs) not only resist 100μm but also tolerate as high as 200μm resveratrol treatment. conclusions: our study thus demonstrated that trans-resveratrol was the bioactive form in glioblastoma cells and, therefore, the biotransforming activity of trans-resveratrol would be reversely correlated with the chemosensitivity of the treated cells. the findings from pbcs suggest that an effective anti-glioblastoma dose of resveratrol may not exert side-effect on normal brain cells, providing a strong evidence for practical use of resveratrol in the management of human brain malignancies. key words: resveratrol, glioblastoma, drug metabolism downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-05-31 issue vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com lowbush blueberries, vaccinium angustifolium, modulate the functional potential of nutrient utilization and dna maintenance mechanisms in the rat proximal colon microbiota | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 / research articles lowbush blueberries, vaccinium angustifolium, modulate the functional potential of nutrient utilization and dna maintenance mechanisms in the rat proximal colon microbiota authors alison lacombe department of food science and human nutrition, the university of maine, 5735 hitchner hall, orono, me 04469 robert w. li united states department of agriculture ars, beltsville, md dorothy klimis-zacas department of food science and human nutrition, the university of maine, 5735 hitchner hall, orono, me 04469 aleksandra s. kristo department of food science and human nutrition, the university of maine, 5735 hitchner hall, orono, me 04469 shravani tadepalli department of food science and human nutrition, the university of maine, 5735 hitchner hall, orono, me 04469 emily krauss department of food science and human nutrition, the university of maine, 5735 hitchner hall, orono, me 04469 ryan young department of molecular and biomedical sciences, the university of maine, orono, me, 04469 vivian c. h. wu department of food science and human nutrition, the university of maine, 5735 hitchner hall, orono, me 04469 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i6.87 abstract background: the core gut microbiota encodes for a metabolic capacity that often surpasses the metabolic potential of its host. lowbush wild blueberries (lwb) are a rich source of bioactive compounds, and the gut microbiota is an important modulator of their activity. the objective of this research is to study the effect of a diet enriched with lwb on the gastrointestinal microbiota’s metabolic potential. methods: nine three-week-old male sprague dawley rats were randomly assigned to two groups. the control group (n=4) was placed on the ain93 diet, and the treatment group (n=5) was fed the same diet with 8% (w/w) lwb powder substituting for dextrose. the animals consumed the diets for six weeks, after which they were sacrificed. functional profiles and metabolic potential of the colon microbiota in response to diet were analyzed using deep whole genome sequencing (wgs). results: proteins predicted from wgs dna sequences were assigned to 3,746 cog, 5,577 kegg, and 4,474 pfam families. statistical comparisons of the protein-coding genes revealed significant changes in 25 gene ontology (go), 186 kegg, and 20 pfam protein families representing 2.1%, 3.3%, and 0.02% of all hits identified, respectively. overall, the combined inquires into these databases represented an emphasis on membrane trafficking, dna regulation, modification and repair, and nutrient metabolism. protein families that significantly increased by the enrichment of lwbs were involved with amino acid metabolism, 2,4-dienoyl-coa reductase, metal ion binding, glutamate synthase, redox homeostasis, and aryl transferases. in contrast, protein families involved with integrase/recombinase, reverse transcriptase, and transposon/transposase were at a lower abundance. conclusions: the results from this study reflect the potential impact that lwbs have on the functional repertoire of bacterial communities in the proximal colon. the results demonstrate a higher potential for the metabolism of amino acids and a lower potential for horizontal integration of plasmids and lower phage/transposon activity in the lwb diet, suggesting that the genome at the time of sampling was more stable. this study helps unravel diverse mechanisms of microbial adaptation to lwbs in the diet of mammals and can provide guidance in optimizing functional diets. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-06-18 issue vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com inhibition of sirt1 transcription in resveratrol-differentiated medulloblastoma cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 / research articles inhibition of sirt1 transcription in resveratrol-differentiated medulloblastoma cells authors jing-xin ma liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 hong li liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 xiao-xin cheng liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 mo-li wu liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 li-jun yu liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 qing-you kong liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 ming liu liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 jia liu liaoning laboratory of cancer genetics and epigenetics and department of cell biology, dalian medical university, dalian 116044 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i5.56 abstract backgrounds: medulloblastoma (mb) is the commonest brain malignancy in childhood with poor prognosis, because of its rapid aggressive growth and frequent occurrence. the current chemotherapeutic regimens for medulloblastoma patients involve a combination of lomustine, cisplatin, carboplatin, vincristine or cyclophosphamide, which have distinct shortand long-term side-effects. it is therefore in urgent need to explore safer and more effective adjuvant approach(s). resveratrol, a polyphenol rich in numerous plants, has multiple biological activities including anticancer effects. our previous data confirmed that resveratrol inhibited proliferation and induced differentiation and apoptosis of medulloblastoma cells. sirt1 is a deacetylase of class iii hdacs and the supposed molecular effecter of resveratrol. sirt1 involves in aging prevention and cancer formation in a cell-context specific manner. nevertheless, the datum concerning the role(s) of sirt1 in formation and prognosis of medulloblastoma is still missing. objective: the present study aimed to address the expression patterna of sirt1 in medulloblastoma tissues and non-cancerous counterparts and to explore whether resveratrol exerts its anti-medulloblastoma effects via regulating sirt1 expression and bioactivity. methods: the expression of sirt1 in medulloblastoma and non-cancerous counterparts was elucidated by immunohistochemical ataining (ihc). to clarify the function of sirt1 in medulloblastomas, sirt1 expression in uw228-3 medulloblastoma cells were suppressed by rna interference (rnai). the influence of resveratrol in sirt1 expressions in uw228-3 cells was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr), immunocytochemistry (icc) and western blotting (wb). the catalytic activity of deacetylase sirt1 was examined by measuring the acetylation of the main substrate p53. results: ihc staining revealed that sirt1 was expressed in 64.17% of mb tissues, which was higher than that in noncancerous cerebellum tissues (14.29%). the frequencies of sirt1 expression in the nodular mb (22.22%) with better prognosis is lower than that in anaplastic mb (79.07% ) and classic mb (60.29 %; p<0.05). the proliferation of uw228-3 cells was remarkably suppressed after being transfected with sirt1 sirna, accompanied with extensive cell death. the results of rt-pcr and wb showed that after 48 hours 100 m resveratrol treatment, sirt1 expression in uw228-3 cells was down-regulated at both transcriptional and translational levels. however, resveratrol has no effect on the deacetylase activity of sirt1. conclusion: the above findings suggested that sirt1 expression is corrected with the formation and prognosis of human mb. resveratrol influences sirt1 functioning in human mb cells through inhibiting sirt1 expression rather than modulating its acetylation activity. keywords: resveratrol, sirt1, rna interference, deacetylase, medulloblastoma downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-05-31 issue vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com curcumin and egcg suppress apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 and induce complete remission in b-cell non-hodgkin's lymphoma patients | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 / research articles curcumin and egcg suppress apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 and induce complete remission in b-cell non-hodgkin's lymphoma patients authors ahmad r. bassiouny department of biochemistry, faculty of science, alexandria university mona a. atteya department of biochemistry, faculty of science, alexandria university fatma h. el-rashidy department of biochemistry, faculty of science, alexandria university hashem m. neenaa department of internal medicine, hematological disease unit, faculty of medicine, alexandria university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i12.108 abstract background: follicular lymphoma (fl) is the most common subtype of indolent lymphoma. fl is still considered to be an incurable disease and palliation of symptoms is an acceptable approach to the expected pattern of repeated relapses due to developing resistance to chemotherapy agents. apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease/redox factor-1 (ape1/ref-1) is a multifunctional protein involved in dna base excision repair (ber) of oxidative dna damage and in redox regulation of a number of transcription factors. it was observed that cytoplasmic ape1 induced cox-2 expression through nf-κb activation. it has been shown that chemopreventive agents potentiate the efficacy of chemotherapy through the regulation of multiple signaling pathways, including nf-κb, c-myc, cyclooxygenase-2, apoptosis, and others, suggesting a multitargeted nature of chemopreventive agents. we hypothesized that curcumin, a polyphenolic antioxidant derived from the spice turmeric, and epigallocatechin gallate (egcg) from green tea would potentiate the effect of chemotherapy in b-cell lymphoma. objective: we examined the role of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (ape1) in resistance and prognosis in patients with fl. our major objective was to update the safety and efficacy results of the antitumor effect of combination of curcumin and egcg therapy in relapsed or resistant indolent or transformed non-hodgkin follicular lymphoma patients and their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) compared with healthy donors’ controls. methods: thirty patients with fl with over-expression of constitutive active nf-κb in their pbmcs received regular chop and consumed capsules compatible with curcumin doses between 0.9 and 5.4 g daily for up to 9 months and 9.0 g/day green tea whole extract "1000 mg tablets of green tea whole extract containing 200 mg egcg. we designed a dose-escalation study to explore the efficacy of chop in combination with curcumin and the green tea extract epigallocatechin-3 gallate (egcg) on the viability of patients’ peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) lymphocytes. results: treatment of patients with the combination of curcumin and egcg, significantly lower cytoplasmic ape1 and the levels of the transcription factor were lower than those predicted from the effects of the chop agents (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) alone, especially with a blunting of the remarkable increases in nfκb activation induced by chop. eighteen of the patients had a cr (18/30), and twelve patients had pr (12/30) within 9 month treatment and followed up to 12 months. they remain disease-free a mean of 8.6 y (range, 7.9–9.2 y) after this combination therapy. conclusion: optimal patient benefit might be obtained in follicular lymphoma when administering curcumin up-front in combination with chemotherapy and egcg treatment. the combination of curcumin with egcg resulted in a synergistic antitumor activity and that with chop agents in additivity or sub-additivity, down-regulated the expression of all nf-κb regulated gene products, leading to the suppression of angiogenesis, metastasis and entering in complete remission as indicated by β2-microglobulin and lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) levels. key words: curcumin, egcg, bcell nhl, nf-κb, vegf, ape1, lymphoma downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-12-30 issue vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com morinda citrifolia l. (noni) improves the quality of life in adults with osteoarthritis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 / research articles morinda citrifolia l. (noni) improves the quality of life in adults with osteoarthritis authors mian-ying wang department of pathology, university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, 1601 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 m. nawal lutfiyya essentia institute of rural health, 502 east 2nd street, duluth, mn 55805 vicki weidenbacher-hoper department of family and community medicine, university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, 1601 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 lin peng department of pathology, university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, 1601 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 martin s. lipsky department of family and community medicine, university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, 1601 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 gary anderson department of pathology, university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, 1601 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i2.138 abstract background: morinda citrifolia linn (noni), as a “pain killer”, has been used as a traditional medicine by polynesians for over 2000 years. it was reported to have a broad range of therapeutic effects including analgesic and anti-inflammation. the in-vitro and in vivoanti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of noni juice (nj) suggest that nj may be a useful adjunctive treatment for osteoarthritis (oa). in this pilot study we explored whether nj improves the symptoms and quality of life (qol) for adults with oa. we also sought to evaluate the tolerability and safety of nj for patients with oa in a primary care setting.  methods: this was an open label three-month intervention pilot study. data were collected by pre/post intervention survey and laboratory testing. inclusion criteria were: adults of both sexes aged 40 to 75, with a diagnosis of oa on the hip or knee by x-ray examination provided by their primary care physician, not on prescription medicine for oa, and who were willing to drink 3 oz of nj a day for 90 days.  results: of the 64 questions measuring different aspects of qol asked on the pre/post survey, 49 (77%) had significant pre/post mean scale differences as measured by independent t-test. the oa patients reported being significantly more satisfied with their current health conditions including mobility, walking and bending, hand, finger, and arm functions, household tasks, social activity, arthritis pain, work ability, level of tension, and mood. the study participants were also more positive about their future health and reported taking less over-the-counter (otc) pain relievers. pre/post laboratory testing including: lipid panel, liver and kidney functions were in the normal ranges. high sensitive c reactive protein (hscrp), an inflammatory biomarker, was reduced by 10% after the intervention. conclusion: as a nutritional supplement, nj demonstrated a potential therapeutic effect and improved the symptoms and the qol for adults with oa. a larger, double blinded, and placebo controlled clinical trial study is needed to confirm these benefits. nj has the potential to become an adjunctive therapy for oa patients. clinical trial registration number: nct01070264. key words: morinda citrifolia (noni), noni juice (nj), osteoarthritis, quality of life (qol), pain scales downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-02-20 issue vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com intravenous ascorbic acid protocol for cancer patients: scientific rationale, pharmacology, and clinical experience | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 8 (2013): august 2013 / review articles intravenous ascorbic acid protocol for cancer patients: scientific rationale, pharmacology, and clinical experience authors n. a. mikirova riordan clinic, 3100 n hillside, wichita, ks j. j. casciari riordan clinic, 3100 n hillside, wichita, ks r. e. hunninghake riordan clinic, 3100 n hillside, wichita, ks n. h. riordan riordan clinic, 3100 n hillside, wichita, ks doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i8.43 abstract background: ascorbic acid (vitamin c, ascorbate) has been shown to protect cells against various types of oxidant injury at physiologically relevant concentrations. vitamin c has been suggested as having both a preventative and therapeutic role in a number of pathologies when administered at much higher-than-recommended dietary allowance levels. this article reviews the scientific rational for intravenous vitamin c as a potential treatment for cancer. many mechanisms of action for ascorbate efficacy against cancer have been proposed over the years. cancer patients are often deficient in vitamin c, and require large doses to replenish depleted stores. it has been demonstrated in vitro and in animal studies that vitamin c is preferentially toxic to tumor cells at millimolar concentrations; moreover, pharmacokinetic data suggest that these concentrations are clinically achievable when ascorbate is administered intravenously. data suggests that ascorbate may serve as a biological response modifier, affecting inflammation and angiogenesis as well as improving immune function parameters. while phase ii clinical trials using ascorbate in cancer therapy are under way, vitamin c is not subject to the regulations that synthetic drugs are and therefore has been used clinically for decades to treat cancer patients. this clinical experience suggests the therapy is safe, and may be effective in some instances. attached to this article is the riordan ivc protocol, which details an intravenous vitamin c protocol that can be safely administered to cancer patients. keywords: cancer, inflammation, c-reactive protein, inflammatory cytokines, high-dose vitamin c downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-08-26 issue vol. 3 no. 8 (2013): august 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com turmeric and chinese goldthread synergistically inhibit prostate cancer cell proliferation and nf-kb signaling | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 / research articles turmeric and chinese goldthread synergistically inhibit prostate cancer cell proliferation and nf-kb signaling authors yi zhao department of nutrition university of tennessee, knoxville, tn 37996, j. jason collier department of nutrition university of tennessee, knoxville, tn 37996, e-chu huang department of nutrition university of tennessee, knoxville, tn 37996, jay whelan department of nutrition, tennessee agricultural experiment station university of tennessee, knoxville, tn 37996, doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i7.1 abstract background: pre-clinical studies using bioactive compounds from botanicals appear to offer some protection against cancer. research using single bioactives contributes greatly to our understanding of their mechanism of action, but in vitro studies demand concentrations that are higher than achievable in humans (µm). however, maintaining these bioactives in the presence of other compounds originally derived from the food or extract of origin may synergistically lower the bioactive dose so translatability becomes feasible. the objective of this study was to determine if bio-efficacy of phytonutrients can be enhanced when used in combination even at doses that are ineffective for any compound when used in isolation.   methods: the anti-proliferative and molecular effects of herbs (turmeric and chinese goldthread) and their bioactives (curcumin and ar-turmerone, berberine and coptisine, respectively) were determined in isolation and in combination. using cwr22rv1 and hek293 cells, cell proliferation (as assessed by the mtt assay) and nf-κb promoter activity (using a luciferase reporter construct) were evaluated and synergy of action was assessed by the chou-talalay method utilizing compusyn® software.   results: turmeric and chinese goldthread act synergistically (combination index<1) when inhibiting cell proliferation with all cell lines tested. the synergy of action of combinations of companion bioactives from the same herb (i.e., curcumin/ar-turmerone and berberine/coptisine) and bioactives from different herbs (i.e., curcumin/berberine) help to explain why turmeric and chinese goldthread are more effective than their major bioactives in isolation. at the molecule level, curcumin+ar-turmerone and curcumin+coptisine synergistically attenuated tnfα-stimulated nf-κb promoter activity. even compounds with poor efficacy become more biologically active in the presence of companion compounds. importantly, the effects of combining any two bioactives or herbal extracts were highly synergistic at concentrations approaching physiological significance (nanomolar).   conclusions: these results suggest that bioactives in combination (as plant extracts or isolated compounds) are highly synergistic at the cellular and molecular level at physiologically relevant concentrations. these data help to explain why complex mixtures of botanicals may be more efficacious than their bioactives in isolation. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-22 issue vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anxiolytic activity of aerial part hydroethanolic extract of allium ascalonicum linn. (liliaceae) in mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 / research articles anxiolytic activity of aerial part hydroethanolic extract of allium ascalonicum linn. (liliaceae) in mice authors abidemi j. akindele department of pharmacology, faculty of basic medical sciences, college of medicine, university of lagos, p.m.b. 12003 lagos hakeem a. sanni department of pharmacology, faculty of basic medical sciences, college of medicine, university of lagos, p.m.b. 12003 lagos pamela c. edeh department of pharmacology, faculty of basic medical sciences, college of medicine, university of lagos, p.m.b. 12003 lagos doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i11.71 abstract background: allium ascalonicum linn. (liliaceae) is a mildly aromatic annual herb used to flavor food. ethnobotanical survey revealed application of a. ascalonicumin the treatment of central nervous system (cns) disorders.   objective: to investigate the anxiolytic activity of aerial part hydroethanolic extract of a. ascalonicum. methods: the hole-board, elevated plus maze, light/dark exploration, open field and social interaction tests were used in this study. groups of mice were treated orally with distilled water (10 ml/kg), diazepam (1 mg/kg), and a. ascalonicum (50-400 mg/kg). evaluations were done 1 h post-treatment and the duration of observation was mostly 5 min. in the hole-board test, mice were observed for number/duration of head dips and number of sectional crossings. in the elevated plus maze test, the time spent in the open/closed arms and the number of entries by mice were observed. in the light/dark exploration test, the latency of entry into the dark box, time spent in the light and dark compartments, number of rearing and assisted rearing were determined. in respect of the open field test, observations were made for the number of rearing, assisted rearing, and sectional crossings. in the social interaction test, pairs of mice were observed for number of interactions including sniffing, following, and partner grooming. results: in the hole-board test, a. ascalonicum significantly (p<0.05, 0.01) increased the number/duration of head dips and number of sectional crossings. in the elevated plus maze test, a. ascalonicum significantly (p<0.05) increased the number of entries into the open arm with corresponding reduction in number of entries into the closed arm. in the light/dark exploration test, a. ascalonicum significantly (p<0.05, 0.01) increased the latency of entry into the dark box, time spent in the light box, and number of rearing and assisted rearing. in respect of the open field test, a. ascalonicum significantly (p<0.05, 0.01) increased the number of sectional crossings and rearing. considering the social interaction test, a. ascalonicum significantly (p<0.05) increased the number of interactions. peak anti-anxiety effects were mostly observed at the dose of 100 mg/kg. conclusion: the aerial part hydroethanolic extract of allium ascalonicum possesses anxiolytic properties. keywords: allium ascalonicum, liliaceae, anxiolytic activity, medicinal plants, traditional medicine. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-11-19 issue vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to evaluate the effects of beta-1,3/1,6 glucan on stress associated with daily lifestyle in healthy subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 5 (2015): may 2015 / short report randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to evaluate the effects of beta-1,3/1,6 glucan on stress associated with daily lifestyle in healthy subjects authors yoshihiko ojiri faculty of medicine, university of the ryukyus, nishihara, okinawa 903-0215, japan hiroshi endoh faculty of education and graduate school of education, university of the ryukyus, nishihara, okinawa 903-0213, japan tadashi okumoto faculty of human health sciences, meio university, nago, okinawa 905-8585, japan kazushi atsuta chuko awamori distillery co., ltd., tomigusuku, okinawa 901-0235, japan orie yoshinari the japanese institute for health food standards, 6-26-12 hongo, bunkyo-ku, tokyo 113-0033, japan hiroyoshi moriyama the japanese institute for health food standards, 6-26-12 hongo, bunkyo-ku, tokyo 113-0033, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i5.179 abstract background: fatigue is attributable to physical and psychological stress. fatigue is also a common symptom which occurs in both sick and healthy individuals. although its mechanism of cause is complex, fatigue from stress is known to affect the existing equilibrium of the immune system. however, nutrition, such as beta-1,3/1,6 glucan, has been reported to play an important role in regulating stress and fatigue states, via modulating a weakened immune system. in this study, a popular and healthy beverage in okinawa, japan, containing a soluble baker’s yeast in black koji vinegar (moromisu), was provided to healthy subjects with a non-strenuous daily lifestyle. results: by performing statistical analysis on the results of the profile of mood states (poms) survey, we observed that overall study results (n=14) demonstrated significant differences in fatigue and confusion in the poms factors. conclusions: in this study we confirmed that beta-1,3/1,6 glucan improved some of the factors related to stress and fatigue, as indicated by evaluation of poms survey results. key words: beta-1,3/1,6-glucan, vinegar, poms, stress downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-05-27 issue vol. 5 no. 5 (2015): may 2015 section short report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antioxidant protection against pathological mycotoxins alterations on proximal tubules in rat kidney | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 4 (2011): april 2011 / research articles antioxidant protection against pathological mycotoxins alterations on proximal tubules in rat kidney authors awatef ali zoology department, faculty of science, alexandria university susan abdu biology department, college of girl´s science, king abdulaziz university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i4.135 abstract background: ochratoxin a (ota) was one of the mycotoxins and received attention worldwide because of the hazard it posed to human and animal health, where the kidney was the primary target organ for ota toxicity. in the other hand, dates served as a good source of natural antioxidants and could potentially be considered as a functional food. methods: the study was performed in the department of biology in king abdulaziz university. animals were gavage administrated and divided into four groups: first group received (sodium bicarbonate), second group received (289 µg ota /kg b.w. /day), third group received (1mg ajwa/kg b.w. / day) and fourth group received (289 µg ota /kg b.w./day+ 1mg ajwa /kg b.w. / day). serum (creatinine urea) levels were measured in each group at the time of tissue collection, some biopsies were fixed in 10% buffered formalin solution for light microscopy processing stained with haematoxylin and eosin (h& e.), periodic acid-schiff (pas) and masson´s trichrome (m.t.).other biopsies were immediately collected into electron microscopy processing. results: after 28 days, a significant decrease in body weight, kidney weight and relative weight was detected in ota treated group. also, serum (creatinine-urea) level were elevated. the normal cyto-architecture of proximal tubules were lost exhibiting damaged bruch border, degenerated, binucleated and karyomegalic cells. the most destructed ultra-structure was the mitochondria which severely swollen with disintegrated membranes. in ajwa date extract-group the proximal tubules were normal, whereas in ajwa date extract + ota -group the severity of the lesions was significantly reduced. conclusion: the present results indicated that, ajwa date have protective effects and ameliorated the lesions of ochratoxin nepherotoxicity which might lead to kidney failure. key words: ochratoxin a., ajwa date, proximal tubules, light –structure, ultra –structure, biochemical analysis, morphometry. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-04-15 issue vol. 1 no. 4 (2011): april 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com lipid replacement therapy drink containing a glycophospholipid formulation rapidly and significantly reduces fatigue while improving energy and mental clarity | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 8 (2011): august 2011 / research articles lipid replacement therapy drink containing a glycophospholipid formulation rapidly and significantly reduces fatigue while improving energy and mental clarity authors rita r. ellithorpe tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 robert settineri sierra research, irvine, california 92606 cyndee a. mitchell tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 brett jacques tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 erin ellithorpe tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 garth l. nicolson department of molecular pathology, the institute for molecular medicine, huntington beach, california 92647 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i8.126 abstract background: fatigue is the most common complaint of patients seeking general medical care and is often treated with stimulants. it is also important in various physical activities of relatively healthy men and women, such as sports performance. recent clinical trials using patients with chronic fatigue have shown the benefit of lipid replacement therapy in restoring mitochondrial electron transport function and reducing moderate to severe chronic fatigue. methods: lipid replacement therapy was administered for the first time as an all-natural functional food drink (60 ml) containing polyunsaturated glycophospholipids but devoid of stimulants or herbs to reduce fatigue. this preliminary study used the piper fatigue survey instrument as well as a supplemental questionnaire to assess the effects of the glycophospholipid drink on fatigue and the acceptability of the test drink in adult men and women. a volunteer group of 29 subjects of mean age 56.2±4.5 years with various fatigue levels were randomly recruited in a clinical health fair setting to participate in an afternoon open label trial on the effects of the test drink. results: using the piper fatigue instrument overall fatigue among participants was reduced within the 3-hour seminar by a mean of 39.6% (p<0.0001). all of the subcategories of fatigue showed significant reductions. some subjects responded within 15 minutes, and the majority responded within one hour with increased energy and activity and perceived improvements in cognitive function, mental clarity and focus. the test drink was determined to be quite acceptable in terms of taste and appearance. there were no adverse events from the energy drink during the study. conclusions: the lipid replacement therapy functional food drink appeared to be a safe, acceptable and potentially useful new method to reduce fatigue, sustain energy and improve perceptions of mental function. keywords: functional food drink, nt factor®, nt factor lipids®, fatigue, mitochondrial function, mental function downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-08-29 issue vol. 1 no. 8 (2011): august 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com an extract from date seeds stimulates endogenous insulin secretion in streptozotocin-induced type i diabetic rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 11 (2013): november 2013 / research articles an extract from date seeds stimulates endogenous insulin secretion in streptozotocin-induced type i diabetic rats authors ahmed f. el fouhil department of anatomy faculty of medicine, king saud university, riyadh aly m. ahmed department of anatomy faculty of medicine, king saud university, riyadh muhammad atteya department of anatomy faculty of medicine, king saud university, riyadh raeesa a. mohamed department of anatomy faculty of medicine, king saud university, riyadh amr s. moustafa clinical biochemistry unit, department of pathology, faculty of medicine, king saud university, riyadh hasem h. darwish department of anatomy faculty of medicine, king saud university, riyadh doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i11.33 abstract background: the efficacy of an extract from date seeds has been tested successfully on the glycemic control of type i diabetes mellitus in rats. a suggestion that date seed extract could stimulate certain cells to differentiate into insulin-secreting cells has been proposed. in order to investigate such a possibility, this study was conducted to measure c-peptide levels in the serum of type 1 diabetic rats treated with date seed extract. methods: two hundred rats were divided into 4 groups. group i served as the control. group ii was given daily ingestions of 10 ml of date seed extract. groups iii and iv were made diabetic by streptozotocin injection and were given daily subcutaneous injections of 3 iu/day of insulin for 8 weeks. group iv received, in addition, daily ingestions of 10 ml of seed extract. at the end of experiment, blood samples were collected from each rat, and blood glucose and serum c-peptide levels were measured. results: no significant differences in the means of blood glucose and serum c-peptide levels were observed between groups i (control group) and ii (date seed extract-treated control group). group iv (date seed extract-insulin-treated diabetic group) showed a statistically significant reduction in the mean blood glucose level compared to group iii (insulin-treated diabetic group). the mean serum c-peptide level was significantly higher in group iv compared to group iii. conclusion: biochemical results suggested an increase in endogenous insulin secretion in the case of type 1 diabetic rats treated with date seed extract, which might be the cause of its hypoglycemic effect. keywords: date seed extract; type 1 diabetes; serum c-peptide downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-11-23 issue vol. 3 no. 11 (2013): november 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com wound healing activity of ipomoea batatas tubers (sweet potato) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 / research articles wound healing activity of ipomoea batatas tubers (sweet potato) authors vandana panda department of pharmacology and toxicology, prin. k. m. kundnani college of pharmacy, jote joy building, rambhau salgaonkar marg, cuffe parade, colaba, mumbai 400005 madhav sonkamble department of pharmacology and toxicology, prin. k. m. kundnani college of pharmacy, jote joy building, rambhau salgaonkar marg, cuffe parade, colaba, mumbai 400005 swati patil department of pharmacognosy, prin. k. m. kundnani college of pharmacy, jote joy building, rambhau salgaonkar marg, cuffe parade, colaba, mumbai 400005 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i10.118 abstract background: ipomoea batatas (l.) lam. from the family convolvulaceae is the world’s sixth largest food crop. the tubers of ipomoea batatas commonly known as sweet potato are consumed as a vegetable globally. the tubers contain high levels of polyphenols such as anthocyanins and phenolic acids and vitamins a, b and c, which impart a potent antioxidant activity that can translate well to show wound healing effects. to check their effects on wound healing, the peels and peel bandage were tested on various injury models in rats in the present study. methods: the methanolic extracts of the peels and peel bandage of ipomoea batatas tubers (sweet potato) were screened for wound healing by excision and incision wound models on wistar rats. three types of gel formulations were prepared, viz., gel containing 3.0% (w/w) peel extract, gel containing 6.0% (w/w) peel extract and gel containing 10% (w/w) peel extract. betadine (5% w/w povidone iodine cream) was used as a reference standard. in the incision wound model, tensile strength of the skin was measured. epithelization time, wound contraction, hydroxyproline content of the scab, and ascorbic acid and malondialdehyde content of the plasma were determined in the excision wound model. results: in the incision wound model, high tensile strength of the wounded skin was observed in animals treated with the peel extract gels and the peel bandage when compared with wounded control animals. the increase in tensile strength indicates the promotion of collagen fibers and that the disrupted wound surfaces are being firmly knit by collagen. in the excision wound model, significant wound closure was observed on the 4th day in rats treated with all three gel formulations when compared with the wounded control rats. a significant increase in hydroxyproline and ascorbic acid content in the gel-treated animals and a significant decrease in malondialdehyde content in the animals treated with gel as well as peel bandage was observed when compared with the wounded control animals. conclusion: it may be concluded that the peels of ipomoea batatas tubers possess a potent wound healing activity, which may be due to an underlying antioxidant mechanism. key words: sweet potato peels, excision wound, incision wound, wound healing downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-10-09 issue vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of fisetin on mouse lipid metabolism in vitro and in vivo | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 10 (2014): october 2014 / research articles effects of fisetin on mouse lipid metabolism in vitro and in vivo authors tomoaki yonesaka department of biomedical engineering, kaoru yoshida biomedical engineering center, toin university of yokohama, 1614 kurogane-cho, aoba-ku, yokohama 225-8502, japan shunsuke iizuka department of biomedical engineering hiromi hagiwara department of biomedical engineering, doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i10.152 abstract objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the anti-obesity effects of the polyphenol fisetin in 3t3-l1 preadipocytes and c57bl/6 female mice that were fed a high-fat diet (hfd). background: polyphenols, such as sakuranetin, hesperetin, tea catechin, and quercetin, reportedly regulate adipocyte differentiation in 3t3-l1 cells. furthermore, green tea, apple, and molokheiya polyphenols exhibit anti-obesity activities in hfd-treated obese rats or mice. fisetin is abundant in plants, fruits, and vegetables and exhibits multiple biological activities, such as the inhibition of prostate cancer growth, neuroprotection, and protection against osteoporosis. in addition, fisetin regulates obesity by targeting mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling, which is a central mediator of lipid biosynthesis. materials and methods: (1) in vitro experiments; we investigated the effects of fisetin on intracellular lipid accumulation and glycerol-3-phosphate activity during the differentiation of 3t3-l1 cells. we monitored expression of adipogenetic related-genes in 3t3-l1 cells by real-time polymerase-chain-reaction. (2) in vivo experiments; we examined the effects of fisetin on anti-obesity activities in c57bl/6 female mice that were fed a hfd. results: fisetin inhibited intracellular lipid accumulation and glycerol-3-phosphate activity during the differentiation of 3t3-l1 cells in a dose-dependent manner (50-75 m). in addition, real-time polymerase-chain-reaction revealed that this compound suppressed the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (pparγ), adipocyte protein 2, and perilipin mrnas in 3t3-l1 cells. in contrast, anti-obesity activities, such as reduction of body weight and fat tissue, and improvements in obesity-related blood biochemical parameters and fatty liver, were not observed in hfd-induced mice treated with fisetin (20 mg/kg body weight) by intraperitoneal injections twice per week for 8 weeks. conclusions: fisetin exerted anti-adipogenic activities by inhibiting the expression of pparγ mrna in 3t3-l1 preadipocytes. however, fisetin (20 mg/kg body weight) did not affect hfd-induced obesity. our findings indicated that fisetin could be used as an effective remedy in the treatment of the symptoms of obesity. keywords: fisetin, mc3t3-l1 cells, fatty accumulation, pparγ, obesity, anti-obesity activity downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-10-17 issue vol. 4 no. 10 (2014): october 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com neurodegenerative and fatiguing illnesses, infections and mitochondrial dysfunction: use of natural supplements to improve mitochondrial function. | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 1 (2014): january 2014 / review articles neurodegenerative and fatiguing illnesses, infections and mitochondrial dysfunction: use of natural supplements to improve mitochondrial function. authors garth l. nicolson department of molecular pathology, the institute for molecular medicine, huntington beach, ca 92647 robert settineri sierra research, irvine, ca, 92606 rita r. ellithorpe tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i1.26 abstract background: many chronic diseases and illnesses are associated with one or more chronic infections, dysfunction of mitochondria and reduced production of atp.  this results in fatigue and other symptoms that occur in most if not all chronic conditions and diseases. methods: this is a review of the published literature on chronic infections in neurodegenerative diseases and fatiguing illnesses that are also typified by mitochondrial dysfunction.  this contribution also reviews the use of natural supplements to enhance mitochondrial function and reduce the effects of chronic infections to improve overall function in various chronic illnesses. results: mitochondrial function can be enhanced by the use of various natural supplements, notably lipid replacement therapy (lrt) using glyerolphospholipids and other mitochondrial supplements.  in various chronic illnesses that are characterized by the presence of chronic infections, such as intracellular bacteria (mycoplasma, borrelia, chlamydia and other infections) and viruses, lrt has proven useful in multiple clinical trials.  for example, in clinical studies on chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome and other chronic fatiguing illnesses where a large majority of patients have chronic infections, lrt significantly reduced fatigue by 35-43% in different clinical trials and increased mitochondrial function.  in clinical trials on patients with multiple intracellular bacterial infections and intractable fatigue lrt plus other mitochondrial supplements significantly decreased fatigue and improved mood and cognition. conclusions:  lrt formulations designed to improve mitochondrial function appear to be useful as non-toxic dietary supplements for reducing fatigue and restoring mitochondrial and other cellular membrane functions in patients with chronic illnesses and multiple chronic infections. key words: neurodegenerative and fatiguing illnesses, infections and mitochondrial dysfunction, atp, lipid replacement therapy (lrt)  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-01-25 issue vol. 4 no. 1 (2014): january 2014 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com molecular basis of the anti-cancer effects of genistein isoflavone in lncap prostate cancer cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 3 (2011): march 2011 / research articles molecular basis of the anti-cancer effects of genistein isoflavone in lncap prostate cancer cells authors k. merchant college of health sciences, barry university, 11300 ne 2nd ave miami shores fl 33161 j. kumi-diaka department of biological sciences, florida atlantic university, 3200 college ave davie fl 33314 a. rathinavelu rumbaugh goodwin institute for cancer research, nova southeastern university, plantation fl, 33322 n. esiobu department of biological sciences, florida atlantic university, 3200 college ave davie fl 33314 r. zoeller department of health & exercise sci, florida atlantic university, 3200 college ave davie fl 33314 j. hartmann department of biological sciences, florida atlantic university, 3200 college ave davie fl 33314 m. johnson department of biological sciences, florida atlantic university, 3200 college ave davie fl 33314 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i3.137 abstract background: prostate cancer is the most common form of non-skin cancer within the united states and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. survival rates for the advanced disease remain relatively low, and conventional treatments may be accompanied by significant side effects. as a result, current research is aimed at alternative or adjuvant treatments that will target components of the signal transduction, cell-cycle and apoptosis pathways, to induce cell death with little or no toxic side effects to the patient. in this study, we investigated the effect of genistein isoflavone, a soy derivative, on expression levels of genes involved in these pathways. the mechanism of genistein-induced cell death was also investigated. the chemosensitivity of the lncap prostate cancer cells to genistein was investigated using atp and mts assays, and a caspase binding assay was used to determine apoptosis induction. several molecular targets were determined using cdna microarray and rt-pcr analysis. results: the overall data revealed that genistein induces cell death in a timeand dose-dependent manner, and regulates expression levels of several genes involved in carcinogenesis and immunity. several cell-cycle genes were down-regulated, including the mitotic kinesins, cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases. various members of the bcl-2 family of apoptotic proteins were also affected. the defb1 and the hla membrane receptor genes involved in immunogenicity were also up-regulated.  conclusion: the results indicate that genistein inhibits growth of the hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells, lncap, via apoptosis induction through regulation of some of the genes involved in carcinogenesis of many tumors, and immunogenicity. this study augments the potential phytotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic significance of genistein isoflavone. key words: genistein isoflavone, prostate cancer, expression of genes, phytotherapeutic adjuvant, immunotherapy and chemotherapy downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-03-31 issue vol. 1 no. 3 (2011): march 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of portabella mushrooms on collagen-induced arthritis, inflammatory cytokines, and body composition in dilute brown non-agouti (dba1) mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 / research articles effects of portabella mushrooms on collagen-induced arthritis, inflammatory cytokines, and body composition in dilute brown non-agouti (dba1) mice authors sandra peterson department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 edralin a. lucas department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 djibril traore department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 lawrance christopher department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 christine french department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 stephen l. clarke department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 stanley a. lightfoot va hospital, oklahoma university health sciences center, oklahoma city, ok, 73104 brenda j. smith department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 solo kuvibidila department of nutritional sciences, college of human environmental sciences, oklahoma state university, stillwater; ok 74078 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i9.123 abstract background: exotic mushrooms have long been used in asia for treatment and/or prevention of chronic diseases due to their immunomodulatory properties. however, the health benefits of portabella mushrooms (pm) (brown agaricus bisporous), on collagen-induced arthritis (cia) and associated complications, (i.e. loss of lean mass, increased fat mass and inflammatory cytokines), have not been previously investigated. methods: we investigated cia pathogenesis, body composition and plasma levels of il6, tnf-α and sicam1 in dba1 female mice fed either the ain76 diet or the same diet fortified with 5% lyophilized pm (n=19-20/group). ten mice/group were immunized with 100 µg bovine collagen type ii on day 42 of the protocol, followed by 50 µg lipopolysaccharides on day 62, and euthanized on day 73-74. cytokines were measured by elisa. results: compared to baseline diet, pm had: no protective effect from cia since all collagen-immunized mice developed severe edema, bone erosion, and mononuclear cell infiltration in paws. in mice with and those without cia, feeding a pm-fortified diet resulted in higher percent of body fat than feeding the baseline diet (p<0.05). after cia induction, pm provided the following beneficial effects: (a) a smaller reduction in lean mass and absolute thymus weight; (b) a higher fat mass loss; and (c) lower plasma tnf-α levels (p <0.05). pm-fortification did not alter plasma il-6 and sicam1 regardless of cia status; but it increased in vitro il-6 secretion by mitogen-treated spleen cells. conclusion: our data suggest that pm may reduce plasma tnf-α, attenuate lean mass loss and thymus atrophy associated with arthritis, and protect spleen cell function assessed by il-6 secretion. however, pm-fortification did not attenuate overall cia pathogenesis which may be due to lack of effect on plasma il-6. decreased tnf-α without alterations in il-6 may reduce the risk of other conditions associated with chronic inflammation such as cardiovascular disease. key words: portabella mushrooms, inflammatory cytokines, collagen-induced arthritis, body composition, tnf-α, il-6, thymus, dba1 mice. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-09-17 issue vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com voluntary ingestion of natural cocoa extenuated hepatic damage in rats with experimentally induced chronic alcoholic toxicity | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 / research articles voluntary ingestion of natural cocoa extenuated hepatic damage in rats with experimentally induced chronic alcoholic toxicity authors godwin sokpor department of anatomy, university of ghana medical school, college of health sciences, korle-bu, accra frederick kwaku addai department of anatomy, university of ghana medical school, college of health sciences, korle-bu, accra richard kwasi gyasi department of pathology, university of ghana medical school, college of health sciences, korle-bu, accra kwasi agyei bugyei department of pharmacology, university of ghana medical school, college of health sciences, korle-bu, accra john ahenkorah department of anatomy, university of ghana medical school, college of health sciences, korle-bu, accra bismarck hottor department of anatomy, university of ghana medical school, college of health sciences, korle-bu, accra doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i5.91 abstract background: chronic ethanol ingestion causes hepatic damage imputable to an increased oxidative stress engendered by alcoholic toxicity. polyphenols in cocoa have antioxidant properties, and natural cocoa powder (ncp) contains the highest levels of total antioxidant capacity when compared to all other kinds of edible cocoa products. this study tested the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with ncp mitigates hepatic injury resulting from chronic ethanol consumption. three groups of eight randomized sprague-dawley rats were fed standard rat food and treated daily for 12 weeks as follows: (i) the ethanol-water group was given unrestricted access to 40% (v/v) ethanol for 12 hours (at night) followed by water for the remaining 12 hours (daytime), (ii) the ethanol-cocoa group had similarly unrestricted access to 40% ethanol for 12 hours followed by 2% (w/v) ncp for 12 hours, and (iii) the control group was not given alcohol and had unrestricted access to only water which was synchronously replenished every 12 hours as it was for the ethanol treated animals. results: qualitative structural liver damage evidenced by hepatocyte cytoplasmic fatty accumulation, nuclear alterations, and disruption of general liver micro-architecture, was severe in the ethanol-water group when compared with the ethanol-cocoa group of rats. design-based stereologic assessment yielded a significantly greater volume (tukey’s hsd, p = 0.0005) of undamaged hepatocytes (9.61 ml, sd 2.18 ml) in the ethanol-cocoa group as opposed to the ethanol-water group of rats (2.34 ml, sd 1.21 ml). control rats had 10.34 ml (sd 1.47 ml) of undamaged hepatocytes, and that was not significantly greater (tukey’s hsd, p=0.659) than the value for the ethanol-cocoa group of rats. relative to controls, therefore, histomorphometry showed 93% hepatocyte preservation from alcoholic injury in rats that voluntarily imbibed ncp suspension compared with 23% in animals that drank water. conclusions: ethanol-induced structural liver injury was qualitatively and quantitatively milder in rats which chronically imbibed alcohol then afterward drank ncp beverage in place of water. the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenols in ncp are postulated in mitigating the damage of rat liver due to chronic ethanol consumption. thus, it is suggested from these findings that regular drinking of ncp beverage may slow progression of alcoholic liver disease in dipsomaniacs. key words: natural cocoa powder, chronic alcoholic toxicity, total antioxidant capacity, polyphenols downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-05-28 issue vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com “weak direct” and “strong indirect” interactions are the mode of action of food factors | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 6 (2014): june 2014 / review articles “weak direct” and “strong indirect” interactions are the mode of action of food factors authors tetsuya konishi nupals liaison r/d promotion center, niigata university of pharmacy and applied life sciences (nupals), international collaborative research laboratory, changchun university of chinese medicine, changchun doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i6.7 abstract age-dependent and lifestyle related diseases such as metabolic syndromes have become a social problem worldwide. since these disorders are closely related to dietary lifestyle, the old saying “foods are medicine” is now being re-evaluated. thus, dietary protection against these diseases is attracting much attention. as research into functional foods advances, a book of knowledge is being accumulated on the active ingredients, termed “food factors”, present in food resources. identifying such molecules usually follows the conventional methodology used for finding drug candidates from natural resources. the question has arisen as to whether the mode of action of food factors as molecules is the same as that of drugs. in this article, the functional properties of food factors and drugs are comparatively reviewed and the characteristic features of food factor function is discussed, based on the idea of “weak direct” and “strong indirect” actions of food factors to their receptors. keywords: food factor; functional models; weak direct interaction; strong indirect interaction; ligand-receptor interaction downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-25 issue vol. 4 no. 6 (2014): june 2014 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com structural basis for bitter taste receptor activation and its potential role in targeting diabetes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 3 (2015): march 2015 / research articles structural basis for bitter taste receptor activation and its potential role in targeting diabetes authors ravinder abrol departments of medicine and biomedical sciences, cedars-sinai medical center, los angeles, ca 90048, usa; materials and process simulation center, california institute of technology, pasadena, ca, usa; jun tan materials and process simulation center, california institute of technology, pasadena, ca, usa; key laboratory of biorheological science and technology, ministry of education, bioengineering college, chongqing university, chongqing, 400030, china; hongxiang hui international center for metabolic diseases, southern medical university, guangzhou, china; department of medicine, university of california, los angeles, ca, usa william a. goddard iii materials and process simulation center, california institute of technology, pasadena, ca, usa; stephen j. pandol departments of medicine and biomedical sciences, cedars-sinai medical center, los angeles, ca 90048, usa;department of medicine, university of california, los angeles, ca, usa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i3.176 abstract background: taste receptors are g protein-coupled receptors that, besides being present in the taste buds, have also been shown to be present in the gastrointestinal (gi) system, respiratory system, and brain, though their function at these locations is not well understood. objective: to understand the nutrient mediated release of gut peptides like glp-1 from enteroendocrine l-cells of the gi system, we focused on a bitter taste receptor tas2r38 (based on animal models) to investigate the structural basis of its potential role in the release of gut peptides. methods: the atomic-level structure of bitter taste receptor tas2r38 was predicted using gensemble, a first-principle based gpcr structure prediction method. these structures were obtained for the dominant taster haplotype (pav) as well as for the nontaster haplotype (avi) of the receptor. the known ligands phenylthiocarbamide (ptc) and 6-n-propylthiouracil (ptu) were docked to these structures to provide a structural basis for the taster and nontaster haplotypes. results: docking of known ligands ptu and ptc to taster and nontaster haplotypes of the bitter taste receptor showed a backbone hydrogen bond to residue 262 in taster but not in nontaster haplotype, suggesting a potential mode of action of these molecules in the activation of the bitter taste receptor. conclusion: these results, combined with the ability of ptc to release gut peptides from in vitro models of the enteroendocrine l-cells, suggest a potential structural basis for tas2r38 activation that can lead to the release of those peptides. this release has a therapeutic benefit for type 2 diabetes and implies a role for bitter tasting (but safe) natural compounds targeting tas2r38 as potential drug candidates for curing type 2 diabetes. key words: tas2r38, glp-1 release, pyy release, cck release, enteroendocrine l cell, gpcr, protein structure prediction, gensemble downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-03-18 issue vol. 5 no. 3 (2015): march 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the influence of obesity in patients with prostate cancer review of the literature | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 4 (2013): april 2013 / review articles the influence of obesity in patients with prostate cancer review of the literature authors maximilien c. goris gbenou valence hospital, department of urology, valence doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i4.63 abstract recent studies have demonstrated an association between higher body mass index and increased aggressiveness in prostate cancer. the present narrative review, based on a search of medline® and embase® databases from october 1982 to october 2012, explores the relationship between higher body mass index and localized prostate cancer. in particular, the current epidemiological and mechanistic evidence for interactions between obesity and prostate cancer are discussed. obesity is associated with alterations in androgen levels, decreased sex hormone binding globulin and increased estrogen levels, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, alterations in plasma lipoprotein levels particularly raised triglycerides and reduced high density lipoprotein, decreased levels of adiponectin, and increased levels of circulating insulin-growth factor1, leptin and dietary saturated fats. obese men have more aggressive prostate cancer with a greater percentage prostate involvement, increased tumor volume and higher-grade disease, enlarged prostates, high prostate-specific antigen levels, increased risk of having positive margins and recurrence. moreover, there is strong evidence of the beneficial effects of functional foods for the treatment of obesity. additionally, an increasing number of studies support that obesity-induced inflammation plays an important role in the development of obesity-related pathologies. despite, the beneficial role of nutriment in prostate cancer control, the use of functional foods in prostate cancer is not recommended for lack of large epidemiological studies. this data supports the hypothesis that obese men have more aggressive prostate cancers and that the obesity is a modifiable risk factor of prostate cancer. key words: prostate cancer, metabolic syndrome, obesity, high bmi, risk factor, diet, functional foods. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-04-29 issue vol. 3 no. 4 (2013): april 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com squalene: a multi-task link in the crossroads of cancer and aging | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 12 (2013): december 2013 / review articles squalene: a multi-task link in the crossroads of cancer and aging authors alvaro l. ronco department of epidemiology and scientific methods, iuclaeh school of medicine, prado and salt lake p.16, maldonado 20100 eduardo de stéfani epidemiology group, department of pathology, clinicas hospital, av. italia s/n, montevideo 11300 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i12.30 abstract since its discovery in the beginning of the xxth century, squalene has been recognized as an important link in metabolic pathways. more recently, it has been further recognized as an intermediate step in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. its well known antioxidant capability, together with its ability to protect skin, improve the immune system, and modulate the lipid profile, confer a high potential to this natural substance, which is spread all across the body structure, though mainly in the epithelial tissues, and in particular the skin sebum. this review will focus mainly on its major properties, which are related to anticancer properties, the maintenance of the oxidation/antioxidation balance, and its antiaging capabilities. although the substance was originally obtained from shark liver oil, it is currently possible to obtain useful amounts from vegetable sources like extra virgin olive oil, therefore avoiding the dependence on capturing the aforementioned animal species. recognized as one of the key components of the mediterranean dietary style, squalene is necessary to adequately manage oxygen and its derivatives in every cell of the body. key words: aging, antioxidants, cancer, cholesterol, diet, olive oil, squalene downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-12-20 issue vol. 3 no. 12 (2013): december 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com neuroprotective and immune effects of active forms of vitamin d3 and docosahexaenoic acid in alzheimer disease patients | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 / review articles neuroprotective and immune effects of active forms of vitamin d3 and docosahexaenoic acid in alzheimer disease patients authors milan fiala department of medicine, david geffen school of medicine at ucla and va greater los angeles healthcare system, 650 charles e. young dr. south, los angeles, ca 90095-1735 mathew t. mizwicki department of medicine, david geffen school of medicine at ucla and va greater los angeles healthcare system, 650 charles e. young dr. south, los angeles, ca 90095-1735 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i12.107 abstract neurodegenerative diseases, in particular alzheimer disease (ad), afflict an increasing proportion of the older population with aging. decreased exposure to sunlight and decreased consumption of fish, fruits, and vegetables, are two epidemiological factors that appear to be related to the pandemic of ad. in addition to replacing simple with complex carbohydrates and avoiding saturated fat, two nutritional components, vitamin d (acting through the endogenous hormonal form 1α,25 dihydroxyvitamin d, 1,25d) and docosahexaenoic acid (dha) (acting through the docosanoid lipidic modulators resolvins and neuroprotectins) have high potential for prevention of alzheimer disease. 1,25d is a neuroprotective, it acts both directly and indirectly in neurons by improving the clearance of amyloid-beta by macrophages/microglia. resolvins and neuroprotectins inhibit amyloidogenic processing of amyloid-precursor protein, inflammatory cytokines, and apoptosis. it is likely that the increased consumption of vitamin d and fish oil could prevent neurodegeneration in some subjects by maintaining adequate endocrine, paracrine, and/or autocrine production of 1,25d and the dha-derived lipidic modulators. before firm recommendations of the dosage can be proposed, however, the in vivo effects of vitamin d3 and dha supplementation should be investigated by prospective studies. key words: alzheimer disease, vitamin d3, dha, fish oil downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-12-30 issue vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-cancer effect of angelica sinensis on women’s reproductive cancer | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 / research articles anti-cancer effect of angelica sinensis on women’s reproductive cancer authors hong-hong zhu healthcare genetics program, department of nursing and department of physics, clemson university, clemson, sc 29634 guo-hui huang healthcare genetics program, department of nursing and department of physics, clemson university, clemson, sc 29634 patricia l. tate healthcare genetics program, department of nursing and department of physics, clemson university, clemson, sc 29634 lyndon l. larcom healthcare genetics program, department of nursing and department of physics, clemson university, clemson, sc 29634 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i6.86 abstract objective: danggui, the root of angelica sinensis, has traditionally been used for the treatment of women’s reproductive disorders in china for thousands of years. this study was to determine whether danggui have potential anti-cancer effect on women’s cancer and its potential mechanism. methods: danggui was extracted by ethanol. the cell titer 96® aqueous non-radioactive cell proliferation assay was used to compare the effects of danggui on human breast (mcf-7 and 7368) and cervical (caski and siha) cancer cells with its effects on normal fibroblasts (htb-125). a revised ames test was used to test for antimutagenicity. the standard strains of salmonella typhimarium (ta) 100 and 102 were used in the test. methyl methane sulfonate (mms) and uv light were used as positive mutagen controls and ethanol and double distilled water (ddw) as controls. the sas statistical software was used to analyze the data. results: danggui was found to be much more toxic to all cancer cell lines tested than to normal fibroblasts. there was a significant negative dose-effect relationship between danggui and cancer cell viability. average viability of mcf-7 was 69.5%, 18.4%, 5.7%, 5.7%, and 5.0% of control for danggui doses 0.07, 0.14, 0.21, 0.32, and 0.64 ug/ul, respectively, with a ptrend < 0.0001. half maximal inhibitory dose (id50) of danggui for cancer cell lines mcf-7, caski, siha and crl-7368 was 0.10, 0.09, 0.10 and 0.07 ug/ul, respectively. for the normal fibroblasts, id50 was 0.58 ug/ul. at a dose of 0.32 ug/ul, danggui killed over 90% of the cells in each cancer cell line, but at the same dose, only 12.3 % of the normal htb-125 cells were killed. revertants per plate of ta 100 decreased with the introduction of increasing doses of danggui extracts with a ptrend < 0.0001 when uv light was used as a mutagen. there was no difference in revertants per plate between ethanol and ddw control groups. conclusions: danggui could be used as a safe and effective adjuvant therapy to prevent and treat breast and cervical cancers. anti-cancer effects may be due to its anti-mutagenicity. danggui should be investigated as a potential adjuvant anti-cancer therapy for women’s cancer treatment and prevention of recurrence. key words: angelica sinensis, danggui, cancer, women’s reproductive disorders downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-06-27 issue vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com vitamin c: optimal dosages, supplementation and use in disease prevention | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 3 (2015): march 2015 / review articles vitamin c: optimal dosages, supplementation and use in disease prevention authors callen pacier functional food center/functional food institute, dallas, tx 75252, usa danik m. martirosyan functional food center/functional food institute, dallas, tx 75252, usa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i3.174 abstract background: the importance of vitamin c as a way to prevent scurvy has been known for centuries. more recent research on vitamin c has expanded beyond scurvy prevention, providing promising evidence for additional health benefits and clinical applications. this review of scientific literature will evaluate many aspects of vitamin c including deficient versus optimal blood plasma levels, adequate daily amounts necessary to maintain ideal levels, and the safety of higher doses. it will also focus on the importance of vitamin c as a powerful bioactive compound, and its utilization in the prevention and management of different chronic diseases. this review is necessary to express the importance of alternative healthcare methods in both preventative and clinical care. vitamin c was chosen as a representative of this concept due to its powerful antioxidant capacity, incredibly important physiological implications, and very minimal chance of side-effects. this review focuses on studies involving human participants that address how vitamin c is important for our health. keywords: ascorbic acid, deficiency, disease, dose, health, supplementation, vitamin c downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-03-07 issue vol. 5 no. 3 (2015): march 2015 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com therapeutic efficacy of genistein-cytoreg® combination in breast cancer cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 / research articles therapeutic efficacy of genistein-cytoreg® combination in breast cancer cells authors m. m. johnson department of biological sciences, department of biological sciences, college of sciences, florida atlantic university at davie, 3200 college avenue davie fl 33314 k. j. kumi-diaka department of biological sciences, department of biological sciences, college of sciences, florida atlantic university at davie, 3200 college avenue davie fl 33314 r. zoeller department of exercise and health sciences, florida atlantic university at davie 3200 college avenue davie fl 33314 b. s. graves department of exercise and health sciences, florida atlantic university at davie 3200 college avenue davie fl 33314 k. t. merchant department of biological sciences, department of biological sciences, college of sciences, florida atlantic university at davie, 3200 college avenue davie fl 33314 v. p. hörmann department of biological sciences, department of biological sciences, college of sciences, florida atlantic university at davie, 3200 college avenue davie fl 33314 m. hassanhi department of blood bank, university of zulia, maracaibo doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i5.93 abstract background: in spite the heavy investments in therapeutic research breast cancer still impacts the lives of women globally. the projected incidence of new cases of in situ breast cancer in the usa for 2011 is 57,650, with estimated 39,520 deaths. the phytoestrogen, genistein and the synthetic compound, cytoreg® have been shown to inhibit growth and proliferation in many cancer cell lines. purpose of the study: in this study, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of cytoreg®-genistein combination on growth inhibition in the mcf-7 human breast cancer cells. method: mcf-7 cells were treated with genistein and cytoreg® single and combination treatments for 24-48hrs; and post treatment chemosensitivity assessed, using: trypan blue exclusion and mtt assays for cell viability, ethidium bromide/acridine orange to assess apoptosis induction, and fam poly-caspase binding assay for mechanism of action. results: the overall data indicated doseand time-dependent cell death in the mcf-cells and apoptosis as the major means of treatment-induced growth inhibition with all the treatment regimens. conclusion: comparatively, the genistein-cytoreg® combination treatment was significantly more efficacious in growth inhibition in the mcf cells than either genistein or cytoreg® alone. genistein seems to act additively with cytoreg® in combination treatment-induced apoptosis in mcf-7 cells. the normal human breast epithelial cells were not significantly inhibited by either single or the combination treatments. key words: cytoreg®, genistein, combination treatment, mcfcancer cells, apoptosis downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-05-20 issue vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com stabilization of a functional refreshment from mango nectar and yacon (smallanthus sonchifolius) through spray drying encapsulation | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 2 (2014): february 2014 / research articles stabilization of a functional refreshment from mango nectar and yacon (smallanthus sonchifolius) through spray drying encapsulation authors torres-valenzuela laura sofía facultad de ingeniería. universidad la gran colombia, complejo científico josé galat noumer, armenia villamizar rafael facultad de ingeniería. universidad la gran colombia, complejo científico josé galat noumer, armenia angel-rendon sara facultad de ingeniería. universidad la gran colombia, complejo científico josé galat noumer, armenia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i2.28 abstract background: yacon syrup (ys) may be implemented as a functional sweetener because of its concentration of fructooligosaccharides (fos), sugars resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis in the human digestive tract. additionally, health benefits related to the consumption of fos have been reported, such as preventing constipation and reducing blood sugar and lipid levels in diabetic patients. yacon is a tuber from south american andes region, and its nutraceutical effects have been researched. objective: the effect of ys as sweetener in a mango nectar (mn) stabilized through sd and encapsulated with maltodextrin and arabic gum (ag) was evaluated as a natural and alternative beverage for diabetic patients. methods: a sequential experimental design was used. firstly, mangoes were characterized into 3 ripening stages, evaluating ph, tss, wc, wa, and tta. then, 4 formulations of mn with ys with concentrations of 33.3, 66.6, and 99.9% yacon-to-juice ratio were evaluated according to the quantity of tss, which were analyzed over the acceptance of untrained judges. later on, the formulation with the best acceptance was chosen and evaluated based on the performance of the encapsulation of components through sd using maltodextrin and ag with a 30% concentration and tricalcium phosphate (tp) with a 0.15% concentration. lastly, the encapsulation process with maltodextrin with a 30% concentration was analyzed at temperatures of 100, 105, 110, and 130°c over the rehydration, evaluating wa, tss, and vitamin c. results: the mango with 12°brix was selected for the formulation. the ys addition to mn generated significant differences (p<0.001) in the flavor because of the concentration, with the addition of a 33.3% enhancing the flavor. as a result, the 33.3% concentration was selected for further testing.  the final stage showed significant differences in the performance of the process, wa, tta, tss, and vitamin c. similar results were obtained regarding these components after the rehydration of the mn 5 days after storage. the retrieval of vitamin c was not affected by the temperature, suggesting a favorable encapsulation.                                                                                                             conclusion: the ys represents a potential nutraceutical sweetener, which may be used with concentrations around 33.3% over tommy mn. the process of encapsulation through sd generates a product that is stable in storage and easily reconstructed. key words: fructooligosaccharides, inulin, micro-encapsulation, spray drying, yacon downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-02-13 issue vol. 4 no. 2 (2014): february 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com novel concepts on functional foods and nutrigenomics in healthy aging and chronic diseases: a review of fermented papaya preparation research progress | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 / review articles novel concepts on functional foods and nutrigenomics in healthy aging and chronic diseases: a review of fermented papaya preparation research progress authors francesco marotta regenera research group for aging intervention, milano, italy and who-center for traditional medicine and biotechnology, university of milano gulcin sagdicoglu celep gazi university, family and consumer sciences department, food and nutrition technology, ankara anna cabeca woman’s health care center, brunswick, ga ascanio polimeni regenera research group for aging intervention, milano, italy and who-center for traditional medicine and biotechnology, university of milano doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i5.94 abstract functional foods are an emerging research field corresponding with genomical, epidemiological and clinical studies integrated with the food industry in accordance with the consumer demands. consequently, the features of the functional foods are being discussed by various researchers and related institutions, and a common view has been pointed out about the availability and the nature of the components of functional foods. recently, the outcomes of functional foods are being assessed by the help of all the available scientific tools. genomic medicine is one of the most promising areas of research to reveal the benefits of functional foods and the bioactive ingredients. nutrigenomics aims at studying the genetic and epigenetic interactions with a nutrient or the functional component in order to lead to a phenotype change and therefore to the cell metabolism, differentiation or even apoptosis. papaya and its fermentation product are specific products derived from the technologically advanced and controlled environmental-friendly bio-fermentation process. it has been well known for a long time that the natural anti-oxidant properties of papaya, mainly depending on vitamins a and c in addition to certain amino acids, were consistent both in the fruit and derived from the papain enzyme which is no longer present in the fermented product. in this article, functional foods in genomic medicine are discussed in review of the fermented papaya preparation research progress. clinical evidences about fermented papaya as a functional food are reported as supported by various research protocols and experimental models. the benefits of fermented papaya preparation are also discussed in nutrigenomic basis and it is reported to have an important antioxidant and transcriptomic potential which deserves further investigation. as a conclusion, fermented papaya preparation represents a functional food highly compliant with the novel features of the new nutrigenomic-driven action plan strategy aimed to reduce the incidences of diseases and successful integration within specific pharmacological treatments. keywords: functional foods, fermented papaya preparation, nutrigenomics downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-05-19 issue vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com safety test of a supplement, 5-aminolevulinic acid phosphate with sodium ferrous citrate, in diabetic patients treated with oral hypoglycemic agents | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 9 (2014): september 2014 / research articles safety test of a supplement, 5-aminolevulinic acid phosphate with sodium ferrous citrate, in diabetic patients treated with oral hypoglycemic agents authors naohide yamashita department of advanced medical science, institute of medical science, the university of tokyo, tokyo, japan; atai watanabe department of advanced medical science, institute of medical science, the university of tokyo, tokyo, japan; hikaru kondo sbi pharmaceuticals co., ltd., tokyo, japan satofumi kawata sbi pharmaceuticals co., ltd., tokyo, japan tohru tanaka sbi pharmaceuticals co., ltd., tokyo, japan motowo nakajima sbi pharmaceuticals co., ltd., tokyo, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i9.151 abstract objective: this study aimed to examine the safety of 5-aminolevulinic acid phosphate (5-ala) with sodium ferrous citrate (sfc) in diabetic patients treated with one or more oral hypoglycemic agents (ohas). background: recent intervention studies performed in the usa and japan have shown that a nutritional supplement of 5-ala with sfc efficiently reduced blood glucose levels in pre-diabetic population without any adverse events. thus, it was anticipated that 5-ala with sfc may potentially be taken as a beneficial supplement by diabetic patients who were being treated with oha therapy. nevertheless, it is important to examine its safety and efficacy in diabetic population. methods: this study was a prospective single-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled and parallel-group comparison study. medically treated diabetic patients between the ages of 30 and 75 were recruited from the tokyo metropolitan area of japan and 45 subjects were selected after screening. these subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: daily intake of 15mg 5-ala, 50mg 5-ala, and a placebo (n=15, respectively). the supplement or placebo was administered for 12 weeks followed by a four week washout period. the primary endpoint was safety and  occurrence of hypoglycemic attack, while the secondary endpoint was changes of fasting blood glucose (fbg) and hemoglobin a1c (hba1c). results: adverse events related to 5-ala with sfc were not observed in all the groups. abnormalities in blood and urine tests were not observed either. significant decrease in fbg was not detected in all the groups. however, there was a small but significant decrease in hba1c at 4 and 8 week in the 15 mg 5-ala group. significant decrease in hba1c was not observed in the 50 mg 5-ala group, although a tendency to decrease after 4 weeks was apparent. conclusion: 5-ala with sfc is a safe and potentially beneficial supplement if taken by diabetic patients treated with ohas. trial registration: umin 000008038 key words: type 2 diabetes, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ala), sodium ferrous citrate (sfc), oral hypoglycemic agent (oha), hemoglobin a1c (hba1c), fasting blood glucose (fbg) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-09-13 issue vol. 4 no. 9 (2014): september 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in vitro regulation of enzymes of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system by isoquercitrin, phloridzin and their long chain fatty acid derivatives | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 / research articles in vitro regulation of enzymes of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system by isoquercitrin, phloridzin and their long chain fatty acid derivatives authors khushwant s bhullar department of environmental sciences, faculty of agriculture, dalhousie university, truro, ns b2n 5e3 ziaullah ziaullah department of environmental sciences, faculty of agriculture, dalhousie university, truro, ns b2n 5e3 vasantha rupasinghe department of environmental sciences, faculty of agriculture, dalhousie university, truro, ns b2n 5e3 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i5.11 abstract background: hypertension is a crucial risk factor for development of cardiovascular and neurological diseases. flavonoids exhibit a wide range of biological effects and have had increased interest as a dietary approach for the prevention or possible treatment of hypertension. however, continuous efforts have been made to structurally modify natural flavonoids with the hope of improving their biological activities. one of the methods used for the possible enhancement of flavonoid efficacy is enzymatic esterification of flavonoids with fatty acids. objective: the current study is designed to investigate the antihypertensive activity of isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-o-glucoside, q3g) and phloridzin (pz) in comparison to their twelve long chain fatty acid derivatives via enzymatic inhibition of renin angiotensin aldosterone system (raas) enzymes. methods: the novel flavonoid esters were synthesized by the acylation of isoquercitrin and phloridzin with long chain unsaturated and saturated fatty acids (c18–c22). these acylated products were then tested for their in vitro angiotensin converting enzyme (ace), renin and aldosterone synthase activities. results: the linoleic and α-linolenic acid esters of pz were the strongest (ic50 69.9-70.9 µm) while q3g and pz (ic50 >200 µm) were the weakest renin inhibitors in vitro (p≤0.05). the eicosapentaenoic acid ester of pz (ic50 16.0 µm) was the strongest inhibitor of ace, while pz (ic50 124.0 µm) was the weakest inhibitor (p≤0.05) among all tested compounds. however, all investigated compounds had low (5.0-11.9%) or no effect on aldosterone synthase inhibition (p≤0.05). the parent compound q3g and the eicosapentaenoic acid ester of pz emerged as the strongest ace inhibitors. conclusions: the structural modification of q3g and pz significantly improved their antihypertensive activities. the potential use of pz derivatives as natural health products to treat hypertension needs to be further evaluated. keywords: hypertension, phloridzin, isoquercitrin, flavonoids, ace, renin, raas, acylation, fatty acids   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-27 issue vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com active hexose correlated compound extends the lifespan and increases the thermotolerance of nematodes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 / research articles active hexose correlated compound extends the lifespan and increases the thermotolerance of nematodes authors tetsuya okuyama ritsumeikan global innovation research organization (r-giro), ritsumeikan university, kusatsu, shiga, 525-8577 emi yoshigai department of biomedical sciences, college of life sciences, ritsumeikan university, kusatsu, shiga, 525-8577 yukinobu ikeya department of pharmacy, college of pharmaceutical sciences, ritsumeikan university, kusatsu, shiga, 525-8577 mikio nishizawa department of biomedical sciences, college of life sciences, ritsumeikan university, kusatsu, shiga, 525-8577 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i6.55 abstract background: active hexose correlated compound (ahcc) is the extract from cultured mycelia of lentinula edodes, a species of basidiomycetes mushroom. ahcc contains various polysaccharides, including partially acylated <-1,4-glucan, which is one of its major constituents. the application of ahcc has been markedly increased in complementary and alternative medicine as a functional food because ahcc improved the prognosis of postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma patients. ahcc has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, such as the suppression of nitric oxide production in hepatocytes. ahcc might affect resistance to environmental stress, which is assumed to play a pivotal role in the longevity of many organisms. objective: to investigate the effect of ahcc on longevity, we measured the lifespan of the nematode caenorhabditis elegans, a model animal that is widely used to assess longevity. we also examined the effect of ahcc on resistance to heat stress, i.e., thermotolerance. methods: the lifespan of c. elegans animals grown on media in the absence or presence of ahcc at 20°c was evaluated. thermotolerance assays were performed at 35°c, the restrictive temperature of the animals. the effects of ahcc on lifespan and thermotolerance were analyzed with longevity mutants. expression levels of stress-related genes, including heat shock genes, were measured by strand-specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction after heat shock. results: wild-type c. elegans animals exhibited a longer mean lifespan by up to 10% in the presence of ahcc in the growth media than animals in the absence of ahcc. furthermore, ahcc markedly increased thermotolerance at 35°c. epistasis analyses showed that lifespan extension by ahcc at least partly required two longevity-promoting transcription factors: daf-16 (c. elegans homolog of foxo) and hsf-1 (c. elegans homolog of heat shock transcription factor 1). after heat shock, ahcc activated the transcription of the heat shock genes, which are the targets of hsf-1. similarly, the expression of hsf-1 mrna was elevated following ahcc treatment. recently, natural antisense transcripts were shown to regulate mrna stability at the posttranscriptional level. in nematodes, ahcc increased the natural antisense transcript of the hsf-1 gene. conclusion: ahcc conferred lifespan extension and thermotolerance to c. elegans. our analyses suggest that the beneficial effects of ahcc on longevity are involved in the activation of at least two transcription factors, daf-16 and hsf-1, most likely through an antisense transcript-mediated mechanism. keywords: longevity, heat stress resistance, hsf, foxo, heat shock gene downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-06-07 issue vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com brassicaceae: nutrient analysis and investigation of tolerability in people with crohn’s disease in a new zealand study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 / research articles brassicaceae: nutrient analysis and investigation of tolerability in people with crohn’s disease in a new zealand study authors bobbi campbell nutrigenomics new zealand, auckland university dug han nutrigenomics new zealand, auckland university christopher m. triggs statistics department, auckland university alan g. fraser department of medicine, the university of auckland lynnette r. ferguson nutrigenomics new zealand, auckland university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i11.70 abstract background: nutrition is an important environmental factor influencing symptoms of crohn’s disease, one of the two main expressions of inflammatory bowel disease. varieties of brassicaceae supply valuable nutrients. they are often avoided by people with crohn’s disease because of the adverse effects they are perceived to have on symptoms. the purpose of this study was to review the nutritional content of commonly eaten forms of brassicaceae and identify from selected brassicaceae those that exacerbate, ameliorate or make no difference to the symptoms of people with crohn’s disease. methods: in this study commonly eaten brassicaceae were identified and analysed for major nutrients, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fodmaps. an investigation on the tolerability of ten forms of brassicaceae on people with crohn’s disease was also conducted. this was based on the responses of adult subjects in the ‘genes and diet in inflammatory bowel disease study’ based in auckland, new zealand. results: the nutrient analysis of the brassicaceae showed their important contribution of fibre, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, especially glucosinolates. our study revealed that over 70% of respondents found that the consumption of broccoli, chinese greens and rocket (arugula) made no difference to their crohn’s disease (p=0.0001). conclusions: brassicaceae contain key nutrients which contribute significantly to a person’s health through their fibre, vitamin, mineral and phytochemical content. many people with crohn’s disease can tolerate different forms of brassicaceae. by identifying the particular varieties that can be consumed by people with crohn’s disease and encouraging them to eat them, their nutrition, immune status and anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer factors will be enhanced. key words: brassicaceae: key nutrients: tolerability: crohn’s disease downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-11-21 issue vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com enhanced antibacterial activity of mgotm manuka honey complexed with acyclodextrin (manuka honey with cyclopowertm) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 / research articles enhanced antibacterial activity of mgotm manuka honey complexed with acyclodextrin (manuka honey with cyclopowertm) authors simon swift department of molecular medicine and pathology, faculty of medical and health sciences, university of auckland, auckland lynne m. chepulis faculty of heath, education and humanities, waiariki institute of technology, rotorua benedict uy department of molecular medicine and pathology, faculty of medical and health sciences, university of auckland, auckland fiona j radcliff department of molecular medicine and pathology, faculty of medical and health sciences, university of auckland, auckland doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i5.13 abstract background: manuka honey is recognized for it’s health-promoting properties and it’s use in medicine is well documented. however, the actions of manuka honey are limited by rapid digestion and the inactivation of bioactive components such as methylglyoxal. cyclodextrins are naturally occurring glucose rings that improve stability and bioactivity of products. this study investigates the tolerability and bioactivity of a-cyclodextrin-complexed manuka honey called manuka honey with cyclopower tm. methods: the antibacterial properties of manuka honey complexed with a-cyclodextrin (manuka honey with cyclopowertm) were compared to uncomplexed manuka honey against a range of common organisms using standard measurements of minimum inhibitory (mic) and bactericidal (mbc) concentrations. time course growth measurements were determined using a sublethal concentration of 2% w (honey solids)/v and measuring the area under the growth curve. results: in tube mic assays, manuka honey completely inhibited staphylococcus aureus (mssa and mrsa), streptococcus pyogenes, helicobacter pylori and moraxella catarrhalis at concentrations of 10% w/v or less, with mic values decreasing as the methylglyoxal content of the honeys increased from 100 to 550 mg/kg. mic values at a given methlyglyoxal level were also decreased for s. pyogenes, m. catarrhalis and h. pylori by complexing the manuka honey with a-cyclodextrin. pseudomonas aeruginosa was not inhibited by any of the manuka honey or cyclopower treatments at the concentrations tested (2-10% w/v). manuka honey with cyclopowertm had an increased bacteriostatic action against s. aureus, mrsa and p. aeruginosa compared with manuka honey. conclusions: this study concludes that manuka honey is an effective antibacterial agent that can be enhanced by complexing with a-cyclodextrin. keywords: manuka honey, methylglyoxal, a-cyclodextrin, antimicrobial downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-28 issue vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com nrf2 activation as a future target of therapy for chronic diseases | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 12 (2014): december 2014 / review articles nrf2 activation as a future target of therapy for chronic diseases authors rame taha department of anaesthesia, university montreal, montreal, canada gilbert blaise department of anaesthesia, university montreal, montreal, canada doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i12.160 abstract background: chronic inflammation integrally related to oxidative stress has been increasingly recognized as a contributing factor in various chronic diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, pulmonary diseases, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases as well as premature aging. thus, inhibiting this vicious circle has the potential to delay, prevent progression, and treat those diseases. however, adverse effects of current anti-inflammatory drugs and the failure of exogenous antioxidant encourage scientists to develop new therapeutic alternatives. the nuclear factor e2-related factor 2 (nrf2) is the transcription factor that is responsible for the expression of antioxidant response element (are)-regulated genes and have been described as having many therapeutic effects. in this review, we have discussed the role of oxidative stress in various chronic diseases. furthermore, we have also explored various novel ways to activate nrf2 either directly or indirectly, which may have therapeutic potential in attenuating oxidative stress, inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction that contributes to chronic diseases. keywords: oxidative stress, mitochondria, inflammation, nrf2, nutrition, chronic diseases downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-12-31 issue vol. 4 no. 12 (2014): december 2014 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com optimization of an effective growth medium for culturing probiotic bacteria for applications in strict vegetarian food products | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 10 (2012): october 2012 / research articles optimization of an effective growth medium for culturing probiotic bacteria for applications in strict vegetarian food products authors manju pathak amity institute of biotechnology, amity university, sector-125, noida danik martirosyan functional food center inc., richardson, tx 75080 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i10.75 abstract background: this study aimed to modify de man rogosa sharpe culture medium (termed mrs) for selective cultivation of probiotics strain for the consumption by the strictly vegetarian human population. vegetarian probiotic foods by definition must be free from all animal-derived ingredients. this not only includes the product ingredients but the probiotic inoculum as well. probiotic starter cultures are traditionally grown and stored in media containing milk or meat-derived ingredients. the presence of these ingredients makes the probiotic cell concentrates unsuitable for use in vegetarian products and thus creates the need for a growth medium which is free from animal-derived ingredients. present study investigated the growth of a strain of lactobacillus lactis in mrs. the present invention relates in general to a bacterial culture media, and more specifically a complex microbial culture media, based on plant seed powder extract in place of animal extract for probiotic bacterial growth. methods: lactobacillus lactis, a probiotic, was grown in standard mrs culture medium as well as in our various test media (tm) containing various vegetal source in place of beef extract, yeast extract and peptone as in case of mrs. the inoculated culture mediums were incubated at 37c for 72 hours and growth of probiotic is recorded at regular intervals. the growth was recorded as colony forming units (cfus). results: the best growth of probiotic is observed in tm 2. tm 2 is the leguminous seed extract. starter culture mediums for probiotics or other bacteria primarily contain protein from animal source. the possibility of using vegetal protein from tm 2 extract in place of peptones and meat extract for the nitrogen supplementation of culture media for the growth of lactic acid bacteria has been demonstrated.  conclusion: the absolute vegetarian culture medium containing tm 2 is better than standard mrs for the growth of probiotics. abbreviations: de man rogosa sharpe (mrs), colony forming units (cfu), test media (tm), national dairy research institute (ndri), tamarind seed powder (tsp), solid-state fermentation (ssf), lactobacillus casei shirota (lcs) keywords: probiotics, lactic acid bacteria, vegetarian downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-10-30 issue vol. 2 no. 10 (2012): october 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com bioactive compounds in potatoes: accumulation under drought stress conditions | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 3 (2015): march 2015 / research articles bioactive compounds in potatoes: accumulation under drought stress conditions authors christina b. wegener julius kuehn institute, federal research centre for cultivated plants, institute for resistance research and stress tolerance, rudolf-schick-platz 3, 18190 sanitz, germany gisela jansen julius kuehn institute, federal research centre for cultivated plants, institute for resistance research and stress tolerance, rudolf-schick-platz 3, 18190 sanitz, germany hans-ulrich jürgens julius kuehn institute, federal research centre for cultivated plants, institute for resistance research and stress tolerance, rudolf-schick-platz 3, 18190 sanitz, germany doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i3.175 abstract background: potato (solanum tuberosum) is a valuable source of bioactive compounds. besides starch, crude fibre, amino acids (aas), vitamins and minerals, the tubers contain diverse phenolic compounds. these phenolics and aas confer anti-oxidant protection against reactive oxygen species, tissue damage, and diseases like atherosclerosis, renal failure, diabetes mellitus, and cancer. climate change and drought stress may become a major risk for crop production worldwide, resulting in reduced access for those who depend on the nutritional value of this staple crop. objective: the aim of this study is to determine the effect of drought stress on water, lipid soluble antioxidants, anthocyanins (ac), soluble phenols, proteins, free aas, peroxidase (pod) and lipid acyl hydrolase activity (lah) in tuber tissue. methods: the study was carried out on three potato genotypes comprising one yellow-fleshed cultivar and two purple breeding clones. the plants were grown in pots (from april to september) in a glasshouse with sufficient water supply and under drought stress conditions. after harvest, the tubers of both variants were analysed for antioxidants measured as ascorbic acid (ace) and trolox equivalent (txe) using a photo-chemiluminescent method. amounts of anthocyanins (ac), soluble phenols, proteins, as well as pod and lah activities were analysed using a uv photometer. finally, free aas were measured by hplc. results: the results revealed that drought stress significantly reduces tuber yield, but has no significant effect on antioxidants, ac, soluble phenols and pod. drought stress significantly increased the levels of soluble protein (p < 0.0001) and lah (p < 0.001). also, total amounts of functional foods in health and disease 2015; 5(3): 108-116 page 109 of 116 free aas were higher in the drought stressed tubers (+34.2%, on average) than in the tubers grown with a sufficient water supply. above all, proline was elevated due to drought stress. key words: anthocyanins, antioxidants, free amino acids, phenols, proteins, tuber quality downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-03-10 issue vol. 5 no. 3 (2015): march 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com efficacy and safety of citrus sudachi peel in obese adults: a randomized, double-blind, pilot study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 / research articles efficacy and safety of citrus sudachi peel in obese adults: a randomized, double-blind, pilot study authors masashi akaike department of medical education, the university of tokushima, graduate school of medical sciences, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 ken-ichi aihara department of medicine and bioregulatroy sciences, the university of tokushima, graduate school of medical sciences, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 hiroaki yanagawa clinical trial center for developmental therapeutics, tokushima university hospital, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 takashi iwase department of cardiovascular medicine, tokushima university hospital, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 sumiko yoshida department of medicine and bioregulatroy sciences, tokushima university hospital, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 chiho sato clinical trial center for developmental therapeutics, tokushima university hospital, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 tomoka saijo clinical trial center for developmental therapeutics, tokushima university hospital, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 hiroaki mikasa support center for medical education, school of medicine, the university of tokushima, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 yoshizaki kashiwada department of natural medicines, the university of tokushima, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 yoshihisa takaishi department of natural medicines, the university of tokushima, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 koichiro tsuchiya department of medical pharmacology, the university of tokushima, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 toshiaki tamaki department of pharmacology, the university of tokushima, graduate school of medical sciences, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 toshio matsumoto department of medicine and bioregulatroy sciences, the university of tokushima, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 masataka sata department of cardiovascular medicine, the university of tokushima, graduate school of medical sciences, 3-18-15, kuramoto-cho, tokushima 770-8503 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i7.5 abstract objective: this study was undertaken to explore the efficacy and safety of citrus sudachi peel for metabolic risk factors in obese male and female adults. background: citrus sudachi hort. ex shirai (rutaceae), called “sudachi”, is a small, round, green citrus fruit that is mainly cultivated in tokushima prefecture in japan. our group reported that citrus sudachi peel powder improved glucose tolerance and dyslipidemia in zucher-fatty rats and reduced hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia in gk diabetic rats. materials and methods: we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 40 participants with abdominal obesity and metabolic risk factors including hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance and elevated triglyceride levels. participants were randomized to receive either tablets that contained 1.3 g dried citrus sudachi peel powder or placebo tablets for 12 weeks. the sudachi peel group included 14 males and 5 females with a mean age of 54.5 years, and the placebo group included 18 males and 2 females with a mean age of 51.9 years.  results: physical status including body weight, waist circumference and blood pressure and laboratory markers including metabolic parameters were not different at any observation point between the two groups. however, among participants with serum triglyceride levels of more than 120 mg/dl, body weight, waist circumference and serum triglyceride levels were significantly decreased at several observation points after the start of treatment in the sudachi peel group but not in the placebo group. no serious adverse events were observed in the sudachi peel group.  conclusions: citrus sudachi peel has the potential effect to safely improve abdominal obesity and lower serum levels of tg in obese individuals with hypertriglyceridemia. a large-scale randomized, double-blind clinical study targeting subjects with both abdominal obesity and high tg levels is needed to confirm the metabolic effects of citrus sudachi peel. trial registration: umin clinical trials registry (umin-ctr) umin000002682.  accession number of the ethics committee for clinical trials of food in tokushima university hospital is f5. key words: health functional food, anti-obesity, triglyceride downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-24 issue vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com impact effect of lycopene and tomato-based products network on cardio-protective biomarkers in vivo | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 / research articles impact effect of lycopene and tomato-based products network on cardio-protective biomarkers in vivo authors nermin n. el-nashar food sciences dept, faculty of family science, taibah university, al-madinah al-munawarah soha hashim abduljawad food sciences dept, faculty of family science, taibah university, al-madinah al-munawarah doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i5.92 abstract background: dietary intake plays an important role as nutritional supplements are known to provide potential health benefits in cardiovascular disease. recent studies suggest that the dietary intake of tomatoes and tomato products containing lycopene are associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. in order to substantiate these facts, the present study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of lycopene from tomato products on the potential effects of oxidative stress and atherosclerosis in vivo, focusing on early atherosclerotic events. methods: thirty male albino rats were assigned randomly into 5 groups; group c was the negative control group fed a basal diet, group h was the positive control fed a high-fat diet (hfd), group ts (hfd) was fed a 8% lyophilized tomato paste, group tw (hfd) was fed a 24% lyophilized raw tomato, and group l (hfd) was fed 0.1% mg pure lycopene. the level of serum; total cholesterol (tc), total triglyceride (tg), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (hdl-c), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c) was measured after 8 weeks of experimental treatment. malondialdehyde (mdh) plasma levels were measured in heart tissue homogenate. furthermore, pathologic changes of the heart and aorta were also assessed. results: we found that tc, tg, ldl-c and mdh, levels were significantly increased in group h (p < 0.05) compared to the negative control group. administration of ts, tw and l demonstrated significant changes in these parameters (p < 0.05). the tw group (fed 24% of lyophilized raw tomato components) had more positive effects than the ts & l groups. furthermore, morphologic changes of heart and aorta revealed that tw and ts had a similar preventive effect against the development of atherosclerosis. conclusion: our study indicated that raw tomatoes have a higher potential effect when compared to tomato paste or lycopene alone. this potential effect includes the ability to attenuate and/or reverse oxidative stress and other atherosclerosis related parameters induced by the consumption of a high-fat diet. key words: cardioprotective, lipid profile, lycopene, oxidative stress, tomatoes products downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-05-28 issue vol. 2 no. 5 (2012): may 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the potential anti helicobacter pylori and antioxidant effects of artemisia judaica | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 / research articles the potential anti helicobacter pylori and antioxidant effects of artemisia judaica authors m. adel el-sayed pharmacology department, faculty of medicine, king saud bin abdulaziz university for health sciences, ksa radwan baabbad medical microbiology departments, faculty of medicine, king saud bin abdulaziz university for health sciences, ksa amal balash biochemistry department, faculty of medicine, king saud bin abdulaziz university for health sciences, ksa nasser a. al-hemdan community medicine department, faculty of medicine, king saud bin abdulaziz university for health sciences, ksa abdullah softah undergraduate medical student, faculty of medicine, king saud bin abdulaziz university for health sciences, ksa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i9.42 abstract artemisia judaica (aj) is one of the common species of the genus artemisia that grows in saudi arabia desert and sinai, egypt where animals graze on it. it is widely used in traditional medicine and by bedouins there. (aj) has anthelmintic, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic effects. the present study aimed to (1) elucidates the antibacterial action of aj against h. pylori and different other bacterial species (2) delineate the potential antibacterial mechanism of action of aj in comparison with tetracycline and cefotaxime (3) measure the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (teac) of the aj water extract. preparation of the (aj) extracts was done by three different methods two of them are usually performed by population in middle east by boiling of the shade-dried herb in water as tea (decoction), or soaked in tap water for over night (infusion), other method was done by concentrating the aqueous extract of artemisia judaica under vacuum. the results of this study revealed that (aj) has neither antibacterial effects either against h. pylorinor any other bacterial species. on the other hand the extract of aj prepared by any of the above mentioned methods shows significant (p<0.005) antioxidant action as compared with blank and related to trolox antioxidant capacity. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-09-26 issue vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com n-alkylamides: from plant to brain | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 6 (2014): june 2014 / research articles n-alkylamides: from plant to brain authors lieselotte veryser drug quality and registration (druquar) group, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, ghent university, harelbekestraat 72, b-9000 ghent evelien wynendaele drug quality and registration (druquar) group, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, ghent university, harelbekestraat 72, b-9000 ghent lien taevernier drug quality and registration (druquar) group, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, ghent university, harelbekestraat 72, b-9000 ghent frederick verbeke drug quality and registration (druquar) group, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, ghent university, harelbekestraat 72, b-9000 ghent tanmayee joshib c.u. shah college of pharmacy, s.n.d.t. women’s university, santacruz (w), mumbai-400 049 pratima tatke c.u. shah college of pharmacy, s.n.d.t. women’s university, santacruz (w), mumbai-400 049 bart de spiegeleer drug quality and registration (druquar) group, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, ghent university, harelbekestraat 72, b-9000 ghent doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i6.6 abstract background: plant n-alkylamides (naas) are bio-active compounds with a broad functional spectrum. in order to reach their pharmacodynamic targets, they have to overcome several barriers of the body in the absorption phase. the permeability kinetics of spilanthol (a diene naa) and pellitorine (a triene naa) across these barriers (i.e. skin, oral/gut mucosa, blood-brain barrier) were investigated. methods: the skin and oral mucosa permeability were investigated using human skin and pig mucosa in an ex vivo in vitro franz diffusion cell set-up. the gut absorption characteristics were examined using the in vitro caco-2 cell monolayer test system. the initial blood-brain barrier transport kinetics were investigated in an in vivo mice model using multiple time regression and efflux experiments. quantification of both naas was conducted using hplc-uv and bio-analytical uplc-ms methods. results: we demonstrated that spilanthol and pellitorine are able to penetrate the skin after topical administration. it is likely that spilanthol and pellitorine can pass the endothelial gut as they easily pass the caco-2 cells in the monolayer model. it has been shown that spilanthol also crosses the oral mucosa as well as the blood-brain barrier.  conclusion: it was demonstrated that naas pass various physiological barriers i.e. the skin, oral and gut mucosa, and after having reached the systemic circulation, also the blood-brain barrier. as such, naas are cosmenutriceuticals which can be active in the brain. key words: plant n-alkylamides, pharmacokinetics, mucosa/skin, blood-brain barrier (bbb), cosmenutriceuticals  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-25 issue vol. 4 no. 6 (2014): june 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com agaricus blazei murill immunomodulatory properties and health benefits | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 / review articles agaricus blazei murill immunomodulatory properties and health benefits authors r. biedron international science and health foundation, cracow j. m. tangen departmentts of hematology and 4cellular therapy, oslo university hospital, oslo k. maresz international science and health foundation, cracow g. hetland cellular therapy, oslo university hospital, oslo doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i11.72 abstract the agaricus blazei murill (abm), also known as agaricus brasiliensis l. due to its origin in brazilian rain forest, is an edible mushroom of the basidiomycetes family, which also comprises medicinal mushrooms such as hericium erinaceus and grifola frondosa. abm has been used in traditional medicine locally and also recently as a health food worldwide. since it has been found to possess immunomodulatory properties, its biological and health-related effects, as well as its isolated active ingredients e.g. beta-glucans, have been examined by scientists. other investigations have been performed with mixed mushroom products, such as andosantm, which contains mostly abm, but also the two other mushrooms above. abm-related benefits reviewed here include effects against cancer, infections, inflammation, allergy/ asthma and diabetes. effects of andosantm and other abm-based extracts have been compared in a bacterial sepsis model. keywords: agaricus blazei, andosantm, allergy, asthma, cancer, infection, inflammation, immunomodulation. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-11-17 issue vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com interactive effects of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin d3 and soy protein extract (spe) on oral cancer growth in vitro: evidence for potential functional relationships. | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 / research articles interactive effects of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin d3 and soy protein extract (spe) on oral cancer growth in vitro: evidence for potential functional relationships. authors karl kingsley department of biomedical sciences, school of dental medicine, university of nevada, las vegas, 1001 shadow lane, las vegas, nevada, 89106 mark a. keiserman department of nutritional sciences, university of medicine and dentistry of new jersey, 65 bergen st #149, newark, new jersey, 07107 christine j. bergman department of food and beverage, harrah hotel college, university of nevada, las vegas, 4505 maryland parkway, las vegas, nevada, 89154 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i6.54 abstract background: previous studies have found specific soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, glycitein) demonstrate anti-tumor properties against several cancer types, including oral cancer. few studies have evaluated whole soy extract, containing a combination of these isoflavones and other bioreactive compounds, which may function synergistically and more effectively against oral cancers. preliminary work by this group has now demonstrated whole soy protein extract (spe) inhibits oral cancer cell growth specifically and selectively, through independent cell-cycle and apoptotic pathways. however, more recent evidence now suggests that ingestion of vitamin d3, either in dietary foods or supplements may potentiate the activity of soy components and their anti-tumor effects. objective: the primary goal of this study was to investigate the interactive and inter-connected effects of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin d3 administration with the anti-proliferative effects of whole soy protein extract (spe) on oral cancer and normal cell lines in vitro. methods: three oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (scc15, scc25, and cal27) were treated with 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin d3 at physiological concentrations (10-125 nmol). cell growth was then compared with cell treatment using soy protein extract (spe) within the normal physiologic range (0 10 μm/l). interactive effects were then evaluated using co-administration of spe and 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin d3. quantitative rt-pcr was performed at various time points to determine any changes in mrna expression for key cell cycle and apoptotic signaling pathway regulators, including p53, c-myc, ornithine decarboxylase (odc), caspase-2, caspase-8, and bax.   results: administration of 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin d3 induced distinct dose-dependent, growth-inhibitory effects in all three oral cancer cell lines examined. these inhibitory effects were comparable to the overall range of growth inhibition induced by spe. however, the combined effects of co-administration were far greater, suggesting the presence of synergistic relationships between these components. in addition, these results indicate that either treatment alone appeared to modulate mrna expression of oral cancer cell-cycle promoters c-myc and odc, as well as the caspase-dependent apoptosis pathway, while only 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin d3 administration appeared to influence the bax pathway. conclusion: these results suggest that co-administration with 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin d3 and spe may enhance their anti-tumor effects. this study may help to explain, in part, why balanced diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and soy protein, are associated with protection against development and progression of oral cancers, although further study is needed to develop specific public health recommendations for oral cancer treatment and prevention. key words: vitamin d, soy extract, whole soy protein, oral cancer, growth inhibition. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-06-11 issue vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a nutritional approach to the metabolic syndrome | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 / review articles a nutritional approach to the metabolic syndrome authors robert h. lerman functional medicine research center, metaproteomics, llc, 9770 44th ave nw, ste 100, gig harbor, wa 98332 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i2.141 abstract poor diet and sedentary lifestyle contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome (mets); addressing both is crucial for its management. a diet featuring the mediterranean dietary pattern or low glycemic load has been shown to prevent and ameliorate mets. plant compounds, including soy protein and phytosterols, have been associated with reduced cardiovascular disease (cvd) risk. recently, phytochemicals from hops and acacia were identified as lipogenic, anti-inflammatory compounds that reduced serum insulin and glucose levels in animals. a 12-week, randomized lifestyle intervention study in overweight and obese women with ldl ≥3.37 mmol/l (130 mg/dl) compared a mediterranean-style, low-glycemic-load diet and soy/phytosterol-based medical food to an aha low-fat diet. the modified mediterranean diet with medical food was superior in reducing markers of mets and cvd risk. a subsequent, randomized 12-week study in men and women with mets and ldl ≥3.37 mmol/l (130 mg/dl) showed that supplementation with soy/phytosterol-based medical food plus phytochemicals enhanced the benefits of a mediterranean-style low-glycemic-load diet and aerobic exercise. at the completion of the study, 43% of participants receiving medical food and phytochemicals exhibited net resolution of mets compared with only 22% of those on diet and exercise alone. a subanalysis of participants at high risk (mets + ldl ≥4.14 mmol/l [160 mg/dl]) indicated minimal benefit from lifestyle change alone but marked benefits with the addition of medical food and phytochemicals. case studies illustrate long-term benefits of this supplemented lifestyle change program. in conclusion, institution of a phytochemical-enhanced lifestyle intervention promises to be a clinically useful approach in mets management. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-02-14 issue vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com processed coffee alleviates dss-induced colitis in mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 / research articles processed coffee alleviates dss-induced colitis in mice authors bernd l. fiebich vivacell biotechnology gmbh, ferdinand-porsche-str. 5, d-79211 denzlingen amaya g. vinuesa departamento de biología celular, fisiología e inmunología, facultad de medicina. universidad de córdoba, avda menendez pidal s/n. 14004 córdoba gonzalo sanchez-duffhues departamento de biología celular, fisiología e inmunología, facultad de medicina. universidad de córdoba, avda menendez pidal s/n. 14004 córdoba juan a. collado departamento de biología celular, fisiología e inmunología, facultad de medicina. universidad de córdoba, avda menendez pidal s/n. 14004 córdoba thorsten rose vivacell biotechnology gmbh, ferdinand-porsche-str. 5, d-79211 denzlingen jörn menthe j.j. darboven gmbh & co kg, pinkertweg 13, d22113 hamburg eduardo muñoz departamento de biología celular, fisiología e inmunología, facultad de medicina. universidad de córdoba, avda menendez pidal s/n. 14004 córdoba doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i5.58 abstract background: coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and it has been demonstrated that it has important therapeutic activities not only because of its caffeine content but also owing to the presence of other biologically active small molecules such as chlorogenic acid, trigonelline and cyclopentadiones. however, chlorogenic acid is degraded into catechol, pyrogallol and hydroxyhydroquinone, which are thought to induce irritation of the gastric mucosa. to reduce the content of irritant compounds processing methods have been developed prior to roasting the coffee beans. objectives: the aim of this study was to study the anti-inflammatory and gastro-protective effects of processed coffee (idee-kaffee) on in lps-treated human primary monocytes and in a murine model of colon inflammation (ibd model). results: in this study we have analyzed the effects on inflammatory events in cultured cells and in mice drinking a commercially available processed coffee. the processed coffee inhibited lipopolysaccharide (lps)-induced proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (il)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (tnf)α, il-6 and il-8, and other inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin (pg)e2 and 8-isoprostane in cultured human primary monocytes. oral administration of dissolved processed coffee, i.e., in its usual beverage form, improved greatly the adverse macroscopic and histological features of dextran sodium sulfate (dss)-induced colitis in mice in a dose-dependent manner. processed coffee not only largely prevented dss-induced colitis but also dramatically suppressed in vivo nf-ϰb and stat3 activities through inhibition of iϰbα and stat3 phosphorylation. furthermore, this soluble coffee bean extract reduced the expression of proinflammatory cytokines tnfα, il-11, and il-6 and the expression of cyclooxygenase (cox)-2 in colonic tissues. conclusions: this work identified processed coffee as an anti-inflammatory beverage with the capacity to reduce substantially dss-induced colitis as well as the colitis-associated cellular inflammatory events. keywords: coffee, inflammatory bowel disease, nf-ϰb, stat3, cytokines downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-05-30 issue vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional foods for weight management: dietary fiber – a systematic review | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 4 (2013): april 2013 / review articles functional foods for weight management: dietary fiber – a systematic review authors mona boaz epidemiology and research unit, e. wolfson medical center, holon eyal leibovitz internal medicine department e, e. wolfson medical center, holon julio wainstein diabetes unit, e. wolfson medical center, holon doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i4.62 abstract it has been estimated that more than 1.5 billion adults are overweight or obese worldwide [1], rendering obesity a global epidemic [2]. obesity is associated with significant morbidity, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers [3]. thus, obesity is clearly a medical issue, its costs impacting heavily on health care systems in both developed and developing nations [4]. the combined impact of transmissible and chronic disease in the third world is particularly devastating to the very health care systems with fewest resources [5]. because obesity has been identified as a major health issue, treating obesity is an important goal. however, weight loss management has proven notoriously difficult. it is well documented that reduced energy intake and increased energy expenditure may reduce body weight in the short term, but obesity relapse is the long term is anticipated [6]. in a study of overweight or obese us adults who weighed ≥ 10% less than their maximum body weight the year prior to the survey (n=1310), 33.5% regained > 5% during that year [7]. despite its somewhat unimpressive success rate, "lifestyle" weight management remains the first line intervention for obesity treatment [8]. lifestyle weight management can be defined as interventions based on energy restriction (weight loss diet); increased energy output (exercise); and/or behavioral change (cognitive or behavior therapy). functional foods have been explored as a tool for enhancing lifestyle weight management. functional foods evaluated for their efficacy as obesity interventions can be divided into two broad categories: 1) foods which suppress appetite and increase satiety; and 2) foods which enhance thermogenesis. the present review will focus on those foods thought to act by increasing satiety and suppressing appetite. key words: obesity, weight loss, systematic review, dietary fiber downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-04-30 issue vol. 3 no. 4 (2013): april 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effects of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on attention and impulsivity in an animal model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 / research articles the effects of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on attention and impulsivity in an animal model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) authors ewelina makulska-gertruda department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg joachim hauser department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg thomas a sontag department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg klaus w lange department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i7.4 abstract background: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) is one of the commonest psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. the main symptoms of adhd are hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. both etiology and neurobiological basis of adhd are unknown. in this context, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (lc-pufas), especially omega-3 (n-3) pufas, have become a focus of interest. the symptoms of adhd have been suggested to be associated with a deficiency of n-3 pufas. in addition, the impact of a supply of dietary n-3 pufas in the treatment of adhd has frequently been discussed. objective: the aim of the present study was to examine the influence of n-3 pufa supplementation on attention and impulsivity in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (shr) which has been proposed to be a valid genetic animal model of adhd. methods: seven-week-old male shrs were randomly divided into two groups of 15 rats and fed one of two experimental diets (n-3 pufa-enriched or n-3 pufa-deficient) prior to and during behavioral testing. attention and impulsivity were assessed using a three-choice-serial-reaction-time-task (3csrtt) which is based on the five-choice-serial-reaction-time-task. the experiment was performed with three-month-old rats. results: our findings demonstrate a marked difference between groups regarding impulsivity but not attention. the n-3 pufa-enriched diet significantly reduced impulsivity in shrs compared with rats fed with the n-3 pufa-deficient diet. conclusion: the present data show a decrease in impulsivity following a dietary n-3 pufa supplementation, but no changes in attention. a possible explanation for these results is that the attention displayed by shr may not be linked to n-3 pufa supply. it is important to note that inattention and impulsiveness are two of the main symptoms of adhd. our results regarding dietary n-3 pufa supply may support the positive findings in human studies demonstrating that n-3 pufa administration can improve the cognitive or behavioral symptoms in children with adhd. key words: omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, animal model, spontaneously hypertensive rat, attention, impulsivity, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-24 issue vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a clinician’s perspective on incorporating therapeutic lifestyle change into clinical practice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 / review articles a clinician’s perspective on incorporating therapeutic lifestyle change into clinical practice authors mark s. mcintosh university of florida college of medicine, jacksonville, fl 32209 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i2.140 abstract this article describes the unique perspective of a clinician who was originally trained as an acute care specialist but in recent years had the opportunity to witness the positive impact of therapeutic lifestyle change (tlc) programs in managing chronic diseases. through experience gained from conducting a multi-center clinical trial investigating the effects of tlc program in people with metabolic syndrome, dr. mark s. mcintosh discusses various aspects and challenges pertinent to implementing a successful tlc program. patients, physicians, lifestyle counselors, work places, and home environment are all critical in forming an alliance for transforming the current sick-care approach to preventive, wellness-focused approach that is far more efficient, rewarding, and financially sustainable. key words: therapeutic lifestyle change, lifestyle counselor, lifestyle medicine, metabolic syndrome, dietary modification downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-02-16 issue vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com health promotion by antioxidants | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 / research articles health promotion by antioxidants authors hoyoku nishino kyotoprefectural university of medicine, kawaramachi-hirokoji, kamigyo-ku, kyoto 602-8566 michiaki murakoshi kyotoprefectural university of medicine, kawaramachi-hirokoji, kamigyo-ku, kyoto 602-8566 yoshiko satomi suzukauniversity of medical science minamitamagaki-cho 3500-3, suzuka, mie 513-8670 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i12.105 abstract background: various antioxidnats from daily foods are expected to prevent lifestyle-related diseases. for example, natural carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin seems to be a promising antioxidant, and based upon epidemiological data it was shown to be a possible cancer preventing agent. for this reason, we chose to study beta-cryptoxanthin more extensively. methods and results: from the result of clinical trial using beta-cryptoxanthin-enriched mandarin orange juice, it was proven to potentiate the preventive activity of multi-carotenoid mixture against liver cancer in the patients with chronic viral hepatitis-induced liver cirrhosis. furthermore, beta-cryptoxanthin also has preventive activity against alcohol-induced gamma-gtp elevation, and obesity. conclusion: an antioxidant beta -cryptoxanthin seems to be valuable for health promotion. key words: beta-cryptoxanthin, health promotion, liver cancer prevention, prevention of alcohol-induced gamma-gtp elevation, prevention of obesity. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-12-30 issue vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com therapeutic application of diacylglycerol oil for obesity: serotonin hypothesis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 1 (2012): january 2012 / review articles therapeutic application of diacylglycerol oil for obesity: serotonin hypothesis authors hidekatsu yanai department of internal medicine, national center for global health and medicne kohnodai hospital, ichikawa, chiba hiroshi yoshida department of laboratory medicine, jikei university school of medicine, kashiwa, chiba yuji hirowatari bioscience division, tosoh corporation, ayase, kanagawa norio tada internal medicine of metabolism and nutrition, jikei university graduate school of medicine, kashiwa, chiba doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i1.103 abstract characteristics for the serum lipid abnormalities in the obesity/metabolic syndrome are elevated fasting, postprandial triglyceride (tg), and decreased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (hdl-c). diacylglycerol (dag) oil ingestion has been reported to ameliorate postprandial hyperlipidemia and prevent obesity by increasing energy expenditure, due to the intestinal physiochemical dynamics that differ from triacylglycerol (tag). our study demonstrated that dag suppresses postprandial increase in tg-rich lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein (vldl), and insulin, as compared with tag in young, healthy individuals. interestingly, our study also presented that dag significantly increases plasma serotonin, which is mostly present in the intestine, and mediates thermogenesis, proposing a possible mechanism for a postprandial increase in energy expenditure by dag. our other study demonstrated that dag suppresses postprandial increase in tg, vldl-c, and remnant-like particle-cholesterol, in comparison with tag in an apolipoprotein c-ii deficient subject, suggesting that dag suppresses postprandial tg-rich lipoprotein independently of lipoprotein lipase. further, to understand the molecular mechanisms for dag-mediated increase in serotonin and energy expenditure, we studied the effects of 1-monoacylglycerol and 2-monoacylglycerol, distinct digestive products of dag and tag, respectively, on serotonin release from the caco-2 cells, the human intestinal cell line. we also studied effects of 1and 2-monoacylglycerol, and serotonin on the expression of mrna associated with β-oxidation, fatty acids metabolism, and thermogenesis, in the caco-2 cells. 1-monoacylglycerol significantly increased serotonin release from the caco-2 cells, compared with 2-monoacylglycerol by approximately 40%. the expression of mrna of acyl-coa oxidase (aco), fatty acid translocase (fat), and uncoupling protein-2 (ucp-2), was significantly higher in 1-mog-treated caco-2 cells, than 2-mog-treated cells. the expression of mrna of aco, medium-chain acyl-coa dehydrogenase, fat, and ucp-2, was significantly elevated in serotonin-treated caco-2 cells, compared to cells incubated without serotonin. in conclusion, our clinical and in vitro studies suggested a possible therapeutic application of dag for obesity, and obesity-related metabolic disorders. key words: diacylglycerol, intestine, obesity, serotonin, thermogenesis downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-01-03 issue vol. 2 no. 1 (2012): january 2012 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a water-soluble high molecular weight substance isolated from hyuganatsu orange (citrus tamurana), suspected to be a polysaccharide, inhibits rat osteoclast cell formation | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 6 (2015): june 2015 / research articles a water-soluble high molecular weight substance isolated from hyuganatsu orange (citrus tamurana), suspected to be a polysaccharide, inhibits rat osteoclast cell formation authors hiroko hata department of obstetrics and gynecology, faculty of medicine, university of miyazaki, 5200 kihara, kiyotake-cho, miyazaki city, miyazaki 889-1692, japan masatoshi yamaguchi department of obstetrics and gynecology, faculty of medicine, university of miyazaki, 5200 kihara, kiyotake-cho, miyazaki city, miyazaki 889-1692, japan hiroshi sameshima department of obstetrics and gynecology, faculty of medicine, university of miyazaki, 5200 kihara, kiyotake-cho, miyazaki city, miyazaki 889-1692, japan tsuyomu ikenoue department of obstetrics and gynecology, faculty of medicine, university of miyazaki, 5200 kihara, kiyotake-cho, miyazaki city, miyazaki 889-1692, japan junko matsubara ichimaru phalcos company, 318-1, asagi, motosu city, gifu 501-0475, japan makoto tsuboi ichimaru phalcos company, 318-1, asagi, motosu city, gifu 501-0475, japan takashi tanaka laboratory of natural product chemistry, nagasaki university graduate school of biomedical sciences, 1-14 bunkyo-cho, nagasaki city, nagasaki 852-8521, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i6.182 abstract background: osteoporosis is detrimental to aged women’s health care. we previously reported that hyuganatsu orange (citrus tamurana) contains active substances that inhibit osteoclast activities. prior to conducting a human study, we sought to identify the biological active substance in the hyuganatsu orange which suppresses osteoclast formation. methods: we isolated five fractions from a hyuganatsu orange extract according to molecular weight. each fraction was tested to determine its suppressive effect on the formation of osteoclasts in rats. we also used high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc), infra-red (ir), and 1h and 13c nmr spectroscopy to evaluate its chemical structure. data was recorded as mean ± standard error of the mean. the mann-whitney test was used, and a p-value of <.05 was considered statistically significant. results: the highest and lowest molecular weight fractions showed significant suppression activity on rat osteoclast formation (p < .05). the lowest molecular weight fraction was identified as hesperidin using thin layer chromatography. additionally, ir absorption revealed that the highest molecular weight fraction was not a flavonoid. with regard to chemical structure, 1h and 13c nmr spectroscopy suggested that the highest molecular weight fraction had signals compatible with a polysaccharide such as galacturonic acid. conclusions: hyuganatsu orange contains a biological active substance other than hesperidin that may be a polysaccharide and may suppress osteoclast formation. key words: citrus tamurana, trap positive cell, polysaccharides, rat osteoclast cell, in vitro study downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-06-01 issue vol. 5 no. 6 (2015): june 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a combination of various functional food ingredients as a weight management program: randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind human clinical studies | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 / research articles a combination of various functional food ingredients as a weight management program: randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind human clinical studies authors harunobu amagase freelife international, inc., phoenix, az doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i12.106 abstract background: lycium barbarum increased the postprandial energy expenditure (ppee). negative energy balance caused by the systematic procedure (taislim® system), including increasing metabolic rate through physical activity, use of lycium barbarum-containing taislim (product a), and decreasing caloric intake by consuming a chewable confection (taislim skinny=product b), and a meal replacement shake (taislim shake=product c), would be successful for weight loss. methods: we examined taislim system on anthropometrics, appetite in study 1 and ppee in study 2, both in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind manner. 1) a total of 67 participants were randomized into 2 groups (placebo or taislim system). intake procedures were: product a, 60 ml (20 kcal) b.i.d. immediately before breakfast and lunch, product b, 1 chew (20 kcal) t.i.d. between meals and after dinner; product c, 40.5 g (158 kcal) as breakfast. a calorie-restricted diet with multi-vitamin supplementation and daily exercise was required. anthropometric parameters were assessed at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 w. 2) appetite was measured using a subjective visual analog scale during the initial 3-7 days of intake. 3) for ppee evaluation, 12 participants consumed a single bout of taislim system products or placebo, and took part in 6 study sessions. ee was measured by an indirect calorimeter immediately before (baseline) and at 1, 2, and 4 h post-intake of samples. results: 1) body weight was significantly reduced by 6.2±0.7%, compared to pre-intervention with taislim system (p<0.01). waist circumference, total body fat, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose levels were also significantly reduced by taislim system, in a range of 3.8-9.9%. taislim system was significantly more effective than the placebo (p<0.05). the placebo group showed -0.1-3.9% reduction from pre-intervention with no significant difference. 2) taislim system also significantly suppressed appetite, by 39%, compared to the baseline and placebo (p<0.05) (11% reduction in the placebo). 3) ppee was significantly increased by taislim system compared to placebo and baseline levels. compared to the baseline ee, placebo increased only by 0.8±0.9%, but 7.2±1.2 % with taislim system (p<0.01). conclusions: it is suggested that taislim system exhibits significant weight loss and stimulating effects on caloric expenditure, and thus may be a useful and effective weight loss program. keywords: lycium barbarum, goji, fiber, phenylalanine, n-acetyl-l-tyrosine, tea, polyphenols, human clinical trial, energy expenditure, resting metabolic rate, waist circumference, appetite, body mass index, taislim. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-12-30 issue vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a five patient’s case study on the influence of two different probiotics on individual intestinal microbiota | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 / research articles a five patient’s case study on the influence of two different probiotics on individual intestinal microbiota authors yoko uchiyama-tanaka yoko clinic, 3-3-13 takami, yahatahigashi-ku, kitakyushu 805-0016 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i5.59 abstract background: the composition and activities of indigenous intestinal microbiota are of paramount importance to human immunity, nutrition, and pathological processes, and hence, the health of the individual. it is well established that the intestine is an important site for local immunity. it is known that the effect of probiotics increases beneficial microbiota and improves chronic conditions such as atopic diseases, irritable bowel disease, and obesity. however, as there are so many probiotics, it is unknown which probiotics might have more of an impact upon intestinal microbiota. objective: to understand how two different types of probiotics influence human intestinal microbiota, we analyzed human fecal microbiota after taking each of the probiotics. methods: five outpatients from yoko clinic (1 male and 4 females; aged between 34–46 years old) were enrolled in this study. none of the subjects had cancer or any active inflammatory diseases. the five patients took lactobacillus buchneri (su) for 4 weeks, no probiotics the following week, and mixed probiotics (ns) which are lactobacillus plantarum (ns-5), lactobacillus rhamnosus (ns-11), lactobacillus delbruekii (ns-12), lactobacillus helveticus (ns-8), lactobacillus fermentum (ns-9) for the following 4 weeks. fecal samples were collected before and after the outpatients took each of the two probiotics, and were then analyzed using a kit from techno suruga laboratory co., ltd. the analysis of the microbiota was performed by targeting bacterial 16s rrna genes with a terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis program (nagashima method). results: three patients of the five patients decreased the percentage of beneficial bacteria (lactobacillales, bifidobacteria) after taking su (13.7 ± 7.1% to 4.0 ± 3.5%), whereas the remaining two patients showed an increased percentage of beneficial bacteria (16.8 ± 3.4% to 30.4 ± 4.6%). after taking ns, the three patients who decreased the percentage of beneficial bacteria after taking su increased their beneficial bacteria (4.0 ± 3.5% to 8.0 ± 2.1%), whereas the two patients who increased beneficial bacteria after taking su showed a decreased percentage of beneficial bacteria (30.4 ± 4.6% to 16.4 ± 7.4%). conclusion: this study demonstrated that the two probiotics had different influences. probiotics should be selected not only for their quality but also for compatibility with each intestinal bacterial flora. key words: probiotics, intestine, microbiota downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-05-30 issue vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com lipid replacement therapy functional food formulation with nt factor for reducing weight, girth, body mass, appetite and fatigue while improving blood lipid profiles | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 1 (2012): january 2012 / research articles lipid replacement therapy functional food formulation with nt factor for reducing weight, girth, body mass, appetite and fatigue while improving blood lipid profiles authors rita r. ellithorpe tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 robert settineri sierra research, irvine, california 92606 brett jacques tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 cyndee a. mitchell tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 garth l. nicolson department of molecular pathology, the institute for molecular medicine, huntington beach, california 92647 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i1.102 abstract background: lipid replacement therapy using nt factor® plus kidney bean alpha-amylase inhibitor (healthy curb®) was used in a two month weight loss clinical trial to reduce weight and improve fatigue without changing easting or exercise patterns and without use of drugs, stimulants or herbs. objectives: to determine the effects of an all-natural functional food, nt factor® plus alpha-amylase inhibitor (healthy curb®), on weight loss, body girth, body mass and index, basal metabolic rate, appetite, carvings for sweets and fatigue as well as blood lipid profiles during a 2-month open label clinical trial without food restrictions or increases in physical activity. methods: thirty subjects (mean age = 56.8 ± 1.8; 24 females and 6 males) used the functional food containing nt factor® (500 mg) and alpha-amylase inhibitor (500 mg) 30 min before each meal in tablet form. participants were told to eat and exercise normally. weight, waist and hip measurements were taken weekly. appetite and sweet cravings were assessed weekly by standard methods. fatigue was determined using the piper fatigue scale. blood samples were taken prior to and at the end of the trial for lipid and chemical analyses. results: sixty-three percent of the participants lost an average of 6.11 ± 0.28 pounds (2.77 ± 0.12 kg) (p<0.001) along with average reductions of 2.51 ± 0.05 inches (6.4 ± 0.13 cm) (p<0.0001) and 1.5 ± 0.04 inches (3.8 ± 0.10 cm) (p<0.0001) from waist and hip circumferences, respectively. the entire group lost an average of 3.63 ± 0.13 pounds (1.65 ± 0.11 kg) (p<0.001) with average reductions of 1.59 ± 0.03 inches (4.04 ± 0.06 cm) (p<0.0001) and 1.13 ± 0.02 inch (2.87 ± 0.05 cm) (p<0.0001) from waist and hip circumferences, respectively. weight loss and body measurement decreases were gradual, consistent and significant, along with reductions in body mass index (bmi) and basal metabolic rate (bmr) measurements. overall hunger was reduced 44.5% (p<0.001), with reduced cravings for sweets and fats, and there was a 23.9% reduction in fatigue (p<0.009). along with fatigue reduction there was a 26.8% perceived improvement (p<0.004) in cognition and ability to concentrate, remember and think clearly. blood lipid profiles at the end of the trial suggested improved cardiovascular lipid profiles, and there were no adverse events from the product. conclusions: the participants lost weight, showed significant decreases in waist and hip measurements and had reduced average overall body mass. their fatigue was significantly reduced, and they experienced marked appetite suppression and reduced cravings for sweets and fats. healthy curb® was completely safe and well tolerated and appeared to be an effective functional food product to manage weight and appetite without changing eating or exercise patterns. keywords: nt factor®, alpha-amylase inhibitor, weight loss, girth, body mass index, fatigue, hunger, appetite, mitochondrial function, blood lipoproteins downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-01-21 issue vol. 2 no. 1 (2012): january 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com polyunsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 6 (2014): june 2014 / review articles polyunsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder authors klaus w. lange department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg joachim hauser department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg shigehiko kanaya graduate school of information science, nara institute of science and technology, nara ivo kaunzinger department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg katharina m lange department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg ewelina makulska-gertruda department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg yukiko nakamura graduate school of information science, nara institute of science and technology, nara thomas a sontag department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg lara tucha department of clinical and developmental neuropsychology, university of groningen, groningen doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i6.8 abstract background: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd) is one of the most common behavioral disorders in children. insufficient dietary intake of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (lc-pufas) has been suggested to have an impact on the development of symptoms of adhd in children. individuals with adhd have been demonstrated to have significantly reduced blood concentrations of pufas and, in particular, reduced levels of omega-3 (n-3) pufas. these findings suggest that pufa supplementation may reduce the attention and behavior problems associated with adhd. objective: to provide an overview of the efficacy of dietary lc-pufa supplementation in the treatment of adhd. methods: literature published up until december 2013 on the effects of n-3 pufa supplementation on adhd symptoms was obtained using a pubmed search and critically reviewed. results: dietary pufa supplementation appears to have beneficial effects on adhd symptoms although these effects are small. the clinical relevance of these observations remains to be determined. conclusion: there is only limited support for the efficacy of pufa supplementation for the core symptoms of adhd. given the small effect sizes regarding pufa supplementation, it may not be a sufficient therapy for a majority of patients with adhd. keywords: diet, nutrition, polyunsaturated fatty acid, pufa, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, adhd downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-27 issue vol. 4 no. 6 (2014): june 2014 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com nutritional proteomics: investigating molecular mechanisms underlying the health beneficial effect of functional foods | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 / research articles nutritional proteomics: investigating molecular mechanisms underlying the health beneficial effect of functional foods authors yusuke kawashima department of biochemistry and molecular biology, university of oklahoma health sciences center, oklahoma city, ok anil singh department of biochemistry and molecular biology, university of oklahoma health sciences center, oklahoma city, ok yoshio kodera laboratories of biomolecular dynamics, department of physics, school of science, kitasato university, kanagawa hiroyuki matsumoto department of biochemistry and molecular biology, university of oklahoma health sciences center, oklahoma city, ok doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i7.46 abstract objective: we introduce a new technical and conceptual term “nutritional proteomics” by identifying and quantifying the proteins and their changes in a certain organ or tissue dependent on the food intake by utilizing a mass spectrometry-based proteomics technique. purpose: food intake is essentially important for every life on earth to sustain the physical as well as mental functions. the outcome of food intake will be manifested in the health state and its dysfunction. the molecular information about the protein expression change caused by diets will assist us to understand the significance of functional foods. we wish to develop nutritional proteomics to promote a new area in functional food studies for a better understanding of the role of functional foods in health and disease. methods: we chose two classes of food ingredients to show the feasibility of nutritional proteomics, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids both of which are involved in the inflammation/anti-inflammation axis. each class of the polyunsaturated fatty acids was mixed in mouse chow respectively. the liver tissue of mice fed with omega-3 diet or omega-3 diet was analyzed by the state-of-the-art shotgun proteomics using nano-hplc-esi-ms/ms. the data were analyzed by the number of differentially expressed proteins that were guaranteed by 1% false discovery rate for protein identification and by the statistical significance of variance evaluated by p-value in two-tailed distribution analysis better than 0.05 (n=4). the differential pattern of protein expression was characterized with gene ontology designation. results: the data analysis of the shotgun nutritional proteomics identified 2,810 proteins that are validated with 1% fdr. among these 2,810 proteins, 125 were characterized with statistical significance of variance (p<0.05; n=4)between the omega-3 diet and the omega-6 diet by two-tailed distribution analysis. the results illustrate that the dietary influence of omega-3 and omega-6 on protein expression is eminent with the proteins directly responsible for catalytic activity in the “molecular function” category, totaling 192 proteins, of gene ontology designation. in a similar analysis with regard to the “cellular localization” category, protein expression changed the most in the sub-categories of “cytoplasm”, “membrane”, “nucleus”, and “mitochondrion”, totaling 221 proteins. the same analysis with regard to “biological process” considering the top four categories, i.e., “metabolic process”, “regulation of biological (process)”, “response to stimulus”, and “transport” also indicated significant alteration of 182 proteins. these results illustrate a robust influence of dietary elements, omega-3 or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, on the protein expression in mouse liver. conclusions: application of nutritional proteomics to the dietary effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to that of omega-6 on mouse liver revealed; 1) significant number of proteins are altered between the two diets dependent on the classes of polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 or omega-6, in the diet. the change of protein expression is likely to carry the molecular information that we could possibly decipher, leading to a better understanding of the role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in inflammatory/anti-inflammatory process. the results corroborate the concept and utility of nutritional proteomics that should be developed as a part of functional food studies with regard to other dietary types. keywords: nutritional proteomics, functional foods, mass spectrometry, genome database, cellular signaling, omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-07-20 issue vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of an aqueous extract of dichrostachys glomerata on anthropometric, lipid and inflammatory parameters of obese patients with metabolic syndrome functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 416 of 427 research article open access anti-inflammatory, anthropometric and lipomodulatory effects dyglomera® (aqueous extract of dichrostachys glomerata) in obese patients with metabolic syndrome dieudonne kuate abd , blanche c. etoundi ac , judith l. ngondi, a wan abdul manan bin wan muda d and julius e. oben a * a laboratory of nutrition and nutritional biochemistry, department of biochemistry, faculty of science, university of yaounde 1, yaounde, cameroon; b department of biochemistry, faculty of science , university of dschang; c department of biochemistry, faculty of science , university of douala; d program in nutrition, school of health sciences universiti sains malaysia, 16150 kubang kerian kelantan, malaysia *corresponding author: julius e. oben: laboratory of nutrition and nutritional biochemistry, department of biochemistry, faculty of science, university of yaounde 1, po box 812 yaounde, cameroon. submission date: october 8, 2013; acceptance date: november 11, 2013; publication date: november 18, 2013 running title: anti metabolic syndrome effects of dyglomera® abstract background: increased visceral fat, dyslipidemia and increased markers of inflammation and coagulation are cardiovascular risk factors commonly encountered in obese people with metabolic syndrome. previous studies have shown that ground dichrostachys glomerata (dg), a spice used in western cameroon, can have beneficial effects on inflammation and various other cardiovascular disease risk factors. the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of dyglomera®, an aqueous extract of dg (standardized to nlt 10% polyphenols) on certain anthropometric, biochemical (including pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic states) and hemodynamic parameters in obese patients with metabolic syndrome. methods: the study was an 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 116 males and 202 females aged between 24 and 58 years. participants were randomly divided into two groups: treatment and placebo. capsules containing the active treatment (200 mg dyglomera®) or placebo (200 mg maize powder) were administered 30–60 minutes before lunch and dinner throughout the study period. various biochemical (namely, blood glucose, lipid profile, pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic markers), anthropometric and hemodynamic parameters were measured at baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment. functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 417 of 427 results: at the end of the study, the dyglomera® group showed statistically significant differences in all 16 parameters compared to baseline values. changes in bmi and waist circumference were accompanied by changes in biochemical parameters, with the exception of adiponectin levels which were not correlated to waist circumference and pai-1 values. the results confirm the hypothesis that dyglomera®, the aqueous extract of dg, has antiinflammatory properties, and is effective in reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome in obese human subjects. key words: dichrostachys glomerata extract, inflammation, obesity, metabolic syndrome 1. introduction obesity and its related complications are generally referred to as metabolic syndrome (mets) and its prevalence is increasing worldwide, with some countries experiencing as much as a three-fold increase in the last three decades [1]. due to the fact that mets is a multifactorial disorder involving genetic and environmental factors, its management remains a challenge to scientists worldwide. even though obesity-related complications appear to be secondary to the condition itself, some of the accompanying changes are life-threatening, requiring a combination of management strategies for appropriate control. this is the case in type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension, oxidative stress, and inflammation. mets comprises a clustering of atherosclerotic factors, including visceral obesity, dyslipidemia, and disturbed carbohydrate metabolism [2]. it is associated with pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic states, in which the role of increased visceral fat deposits is thought to be central. abdominal obesity leads to alteration of the normal physiological balance of adipokines, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction and a pro-atherogenic state [3,4]. in association with this, the presence of conventional cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension results in a significantly elevated cardiometabolic risk. the pathway leading to mets involves the abnormal production of hormones and cytokines from the adipose tissue [3], namely, excessive production of il-6, tnfα and the prothrombotic agent plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (pai-1). this is accompanied by low secretion of the protective adipocytokine adiponectin, a molecule that exerts anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, and anti-diabetic effects, and whose production is down-regulated in obese individuals with metabolic syndrome [3,5]. on the other hand, overproduction of il-6 by the adipose tissue in obesity induces hepatic (c-reactive protein) crp synthesis, which promotes the onset of cardiovascular complications [6]. the management of disorders clustered in this syndrome and the elucidation of the mechanisms involved in its development are of great interest for the benefit of health. while lifestyle modification through dietary intervention and exercise have had limited success in treating these disorders, they have not stopped the increasing prevalence of mets and may have low long-term sustainability. pharmacological therapy has therefore been proposed as an adjunct to diet and lifestyle changes to improve long-term weight loss [7]. the numerous synthetic drugs developed to combat obesity and metabolic syndrome have had only marginal success, due in functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 418 of 427 part to their accompanying adverse effects [8,9]. this has turned the focus of some researchers towards nutraceuticals, compounds derived from foods or other natural products that are considered to be safer. medicinal foods and herbal drugs are therefore widely prescribed, even when their biologically active compounds are unknown [10,11]. dichrostachys glomerata (dg) (forssk.). chiov. is a deciduous tree found in cameroon and other tropical countries. dg produces edible fruits and seeds, and the dried fruits are commonly used as a spice in a traditional soup of the western provinces of cameroon called “nah poh”[12]. the hypotensive property of the plant was first reported more than four decades ago [13]. this plant has been shown to have antiviral, anti-infectious, [14] anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects in rats [15] and cicatrizing effects [16]. a study from our laboratory showed that dg fruits also exhibit in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity and can inhibit oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (ldl) [17]. a study of diabetic rats showed the ability of dg to reduce fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels [18]. a recent study indicated that whole, ground dg had a positive effect on cardiovascular risk factors associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes [19]. while these reports suggest that dg can have beneficial effects on health, the bioactive components of dg have not been well characterized. toward this end the current study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of an aqueous extract of standardized dg on mets markers in obese humans. 2. methods and materials 2.1. test material: dyglomera®, an aqueous extract of dg (standardized to nlt 10% polyphenols), was supplied by gateway health alliances, fairfield, california, usa. they were supplied as 200 mg capsules. identical-looking placebo capsules were also manufactured containing 200 mg of maize-based powder. 2.2. study population and intervention the study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial lasting 8 weeks. a total of 318 participants (202 females and 116 males) were randomly selected from a pool of 1,360 obese subjects previously recruited from the city of yaounde and its environs. the participants included males and non-pregnant/non-lactating females aged 24–58 years, with a bmi between 30-40 kg/m 2 . the ncep atp iii criteria were used for the diagnosis of mets, such that if any three of the following conditions were present in the same patient they were considered to have mets: waist circumference > 102 cm in men and > 88 cm in women; triglycerides (tag) ≥ 150 mg/dl; high-density lipoprotein (hdl) < 40 mg/dl in men and < 50 mg/dl in women; fasting glucose ≥ 110 mg/dl and blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mm hg (or use of antihypertensive agents) [20]. a physician examined participants to ascertain their eligibility for inclusion in the study. participants were randomly divided into two groups, and were instructed to take 200 mg of either dyglomera® or placebo 30-60 min before lunch or dinner throughout the study period. they were asked to report any lapses in taking the pills. since the capsules were identical in size, shape, and appearance, neither the researchers nor participants knew which treatment was given. participants were encouraged to maintain their prior lifestyle and dietary habits throughout the study. functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 419 of 427 2.3. exclusion criteria exclusion criteria included impaired kidney function, cardiac problems, serious hypertension (systolic and diastolic blood pressure above 180 mm hg, and 110 mm hg, respectively), need for daily insulin management, and enrollment in another clinical study within the past 6 months. also excluded were volunteers with a history of drug or alcohol abuse, those on cholesterollowering, inflammation-reducing and/or other medications (e.g., steroids) that interfere with blood clotting and wound repair, as well as participants with infections including hiv/aids or cancer. 2.4. approval and informed consent the study was approved by the local ethical committee (approval no. 006/cne/mp/07). the purpose, nature, and potential risks of the study were explained to all participants, who gave their written informed consent before participation. the study was done in full accordance with the ethical provisions of the world medical association declaration of helsinki (as amended by the 52nd general assembly, edinburgh, scotland, october 2000). 2.5. anthropometric measurements various anthropometric parameters were measured at baseline and at biweekly follow-up visits for the 8 weeks of treatment. height was measured with a harpenden™ stadiometer (cranlea & company, birmingham, uk), which measures height to the nearest 0.5 cm. body weight and percentage body fat were assessed using a tanita tm bc-418 segmental body composition analyzer/scale (arlington heights, illinois, usa) that uses bioelectrical impedance analysis to compute body composition. bmi was calculated as the ratio of weight (kg) to height squared (m 2 ). waist (average of narrowest and the widest parts of the trunk) and hip (widest point) circumferences were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm. the participants were asked to fast for 12 hours and to wear light clothing for visits when measurements were taken. the participants were measured at approximately the same time of day and by the same technician across visits. 2.6. blood pressure as with the anthropometric measurements, blood pressure was recorded at baseline and at biweekly follow-up visits. blood pressure was measured on the left arm after a 10-minute rest. triplicate readings were taken over 5-minute intervals and the average was recorded. 2.7. sample collection at week 4 and week 8, blood samples (5 ml of blood) were collected after a 12-hour overnight fast. the plasma or serum obtained from each blood sample were split into multiple 500 µl aliquots and stored at -20 °c until needed. 2.8. analytical methods this study used the trinder glucose activity test [21], which determines glucose in the blood using glucose oxidase with an alternative oxygen receptor. plasma total cholesterol was assayed functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 420 of 427 by the cholesterol oxidase method [22], while triglycerides were assayed following the method described by bucolo and david [23]. hdl cholesterol was determined using a heparin manganese precipitation of apo b-containing lipoproteins [24], and ldl cholesterol was calculated using the friedewald formula [25]. c-reactive protein was measured using an elisa method (biocheck™ hsc reactive protein elisa kit, foster city, ca usa). . fasting insulin (miu/l) was determined using the medgenic immunoenzymetric assay by biosource-europe sa (nivelles, belgium). insulin sensitivity was assessed by the homeostasis assessment model (homa-ir [mmol/l × mu/l] = (fasting glucose [mmol/l] × fasting insulin [mu/l]/22.5). fasting serum adiponectin was measured using the linco ria, and pai-1 concentrations were assessed by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (diagnostica stago, asnières-surseine, france). 2.9. statistical analysis the data were summarized (mean and standard error) for week 0 (baseline), week 4, and week 8 (final), and the intra-group variation and the data were analyzed using spss 16.0 for windows (spss inc., chicago, il, usa). because the repeated measurements on each participant were correlated in nature (covariance), a mixedmodel approach was used to characterize variation between patients and within patients because it is a flexible tool for analyzing repeated, longitudinal treatments. the interaction between time and intervention was tested at the 0.05 level of significance. if the interaction was significant, comparisons were made between the treatment and placebo groups for each month. between-treatment changes were tested using oneway analysis of covariance (ancova), adjusted for baseline values, with the initial value as a covariate. bilateral correlations between variables were examined using pearson’s correlation coefficients. p values less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. 3. results 3.1. baseline characteristics a total of 297 individuals (154 in the dyglomera® treatment group and 143 in the placebo group) out of 318 initial participants completed the study (21 participants dropped out of the study). the number of premature withdrawals was higher in the placebo group than in the dyglomera® group (16 vs 5). the baseline (t0) anthropometric, hemodynamic, and metabolic characteristics of the two study groups are listed in tables 1–4. plasma tag, total cholesterol, plasma glucose, insulin resistance (homa-ir), crp, and circulating pai-1 were slightly higher at t0, whereas hdl cholesterol and adiponectin were lower at t0 than normal values, which is reflective of the obese status of the patients in the study. the baseline characteristics across the two experimental groups were not significantly different. 3.2. anthropomorphic characteristics and blood pressure. table 1 shows the changes in the various anthropometric variables (body weight, bmi, waist and hip circumference, and percent body fat) over the 8-week trial period. functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 421 of 427 table 1. anthropometric effects of dg in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome variable group t0 t4 t8 change from baseline (t8 t0) (%) weight (kg) dg 99.26± 1.12 93.73± 1.07 a 88.12± 1.05 b -11.15± 0.18 (-11.33) † placebo 98.69± 1.15 98.72± 1.12 98.17± 1.11 -0.53± 0.11 (-0.49) bmi (kg/m 2 ) dg 36.63± 0.25 34.59± 0.25 a 32.51±0.26 b -4.13± 0.06 (-11.33) † placebo 36.02± 0.26 36.04± 0.26 35.84± 0.26 -0.18± 0.04 (-0.49) waist (cm) dg 106.20± 0.88 99.79± 0.98 b 95.48± 0.99 b -10.72± 0.28 † (-10.23) † placebo 105.43± 1.00 105.49± 0.97 104.65± 0.97 -0.77± 0.08 (-0.70) hip (cm) dg 127.37± 0.73 122.92± 0.75 a 118.34± 0.73 b -9.03± 0.22 (-7.10) † placebo 126.52± 0.82 126.34± 0.85 125.88± 0.84 -0.64± 0.21 (-0.51) body fat (%) dg 44.88± 0.58 42.32± 0.56 a 40.15± 0.55 b -4.73± 0.11 (-10.68) † placebo 44.28± 0.61 44.37± 0.60 44.08± 0.59 -0.20± 0.10 (-0.37) a p < 0.05 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline b p < 0.001 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline † p < 0.05 compared with baseline, intra-group analysis compared to the placebo group, the dyglomera® treatment group showed a significant average weight reduction of 11.15 kg (-11.33% of total body weight) (p < 0.001) after 8 weeks of treatment with dyglomera®. the amount of weight loss achieved in the current study using dyglomera® was higher than that obtained with whole, ground dg in a previous study[19]. this reduction in weight was accompanied by a loss of visceral fat as measured by waist circumference (-10.23%). in general, changes to bmi, waist and hip circumferences, and body fat paralleled the loss in weight. similarly, blood pressure also decreased significantly in the dyglomera® treatment group compared with the placebo group (p < 0.001) (table 2). table 2. effects of dg on blood pressure in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome variable group t0 t4 t8 change from baseline (t8 t0) (%) sbp (mm hg) dg 143.93± 0.48 122.51± 1.07 b 119.75± 0.92 b -24.18± 1.00 (-16.69) † placebo 142.60± 0.54 142.92± 0.83 144.29± 0.95 1.69±0.83 (+1.22) dbp (mm hg) dg 93.43± 0.52 85.62± 0.6 b 82.25± 0.69 b -11.18± 0.66 (-11.81) † placebo 93.29± 0.54 94.77± 0.61 95.27± 0.68 1.99± 0.47 (2.19) a p < 0.05 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline b p < 0.001 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline † p < 0.05 compared with baseline, intra-group analysis 3.3. blood parameters: as shown in table 3, there were significant variations in the lipid profile from baseline to week 8 of dyglomera® treatment in tag, tc, hdl and ldl concentrations. functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 422 of 427 table 3. effects of dg on blood glucose and lipid parameters in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome variable group t0 t4 t8 change from baseline (t8 t0) (%) glucose (mg/dl) dg 110.25± 0.48 85.82± 0.82 a 79.55± 0.51 b -30.70± 0.66 (-27.67) † placebo 108.99± 0.74 110.54± 0.68 111.75± 0.77 2.76± 0.59 (+2.72) tag (mg/dl) dg 151.92± 3.01 46.80± 2.48 a 44.01± 1.86 b -105.12± 3.54(-69.49) † placebo 150.79± 1.78 156.11± 3.04 151.77± 2.39 0.98± 2.91 (+4.33) tc (mg/dl) dg 219.57± 1.82 137.84± 2.73 b 122.76± 3.36 b -96.82± 3.65 (-43.67) † placebo 216.47± 3.26 217.91± 2.98 216.35± 3.16 -0.12± 1.88 (+0.63) hdl (mg/dl) dg 37.68± 0.54 50.39± 1.58 a 58.23± 1.07 b 20.55± 0.84 (+55.52) † placebo 27.24± 0.99 19.87± 1.09 24.92± 1.13 -2.32± 1.05 (+0.41) ldl (mg/dl) dg 151.51± 1.96 78.09± 3.02 a 76.27± 3.44 b -75.23± 3.60 (-49.18) † placebo 159.07± 3.26 166.82± 3.12 161.07±3.39 2.00± 2.26 (+1.61) a p < 0.05 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline b p < 0.001 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline † p < 0.05 compared with baseline, intra-group analysis these variations were significant compared with the placebo group (p < 0.001). there was also a significant reduction of blood glucose by 27.67% in the dyglomera® group from baseline to week 8 (p < 0.001) (table 3). as shown in table 4, the dyglomera® group demonstrated significant reductions in insulin and insulin resistance (homa-ir) respectively by 10.38% and 35.11%, crp by 17.16%, pai-1 by 39.61 % in response to the weight loss during the dyglomera® supplementation from baseline to week 8 (p < 0.001). inverse to the change in body weight, adiponectin levels increased by 21.86% in the dyglomera® group from baseline to week 8. table 4. effects of dg on insulin resistance and circulating markers of inflammation and blood coagulation in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome variable group t0 t4 t8 change from baseline (t8 t0) (%) insulin (miu/l) dg 13.01± 0.15 12.27± 0.13 a 11.67± 0.15 a -1.34± 0.10 (-10.38) † placebo 13.80± 0.74 13.71± 0.17 13.66± 0.19 -0.15± 0.11 (-1.05) homa-ir (mmol/l×mu/l) dg 3.55± 0.04 2.60± 0.04 a 2.30± 0.03 a -1.25± 0.03 (-35.11) † placebo 3.71± 0.05 3.74± 0.05 3.77± 0.06 0.06± 0.04 (+1.65) adiponectin (µg/ml) dg 5.80± 0.11 6.51± 0.14 a 7.08± 0.17 b 1.28± 0.10 (21.86) † placebo 5.48± 0.15 5.51± 0.19 5.54± 0.19 0.05± 0.11 (+0.40) crp (mg/l) dg 6.43± 0.14 5.80± 0.07 a 5.10± 0.11 b -1.32± 0.14 (-17.16) † placebo 6.12± 0.99 6.25± 0.21 6.07± 0.21 -0.05± 0.14 (-1.73) pai-1 (ng/l) dg 32.58± 0.22 26.25± 0.34 a 19.81± 0.37 b -12.77± 0.26 (-39.61) † placebo 33.14± 0.26 32.39± 0.28 32.31±0.28 -0.83± 0.09 (-2.52) a p < 0.05 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline b p < 0.001 compared with placebo, adjusted for baseline † p < 0.05 compared with baseline, intra-group analysis functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 423 of 427 with regard to lipid profiles, this study confirms the strong hypolipidemic effects of dyglomera® and suggests it could protect against mets through reduced tc (mean = 96.82 mg/dl (-43.67%)), reduced ldl (mean = 75.23 mg/dl (-49.18%)), reduced tag (mean = 105.12 mg/dl (-69.49%)) and increased hdl (mean = 20.55 mg/dl (+55.52%)). 3.4. correlation of select anthropometric changes with metabolic parameters and adipocytokines before and after weight loss. pearson correlations between outcome variables are presented in table 5 and they reveal that the change in bmi was significantly associated with changes in insulin, hdl, ldl, crp, adiponectin, insulin and pai-1 levels (p <0.01). similarly, waist circumference reduction was significantly associated with the all the above mentioned parameters except adiponectin. while there was no significant correlation between the adipocytokines adiponectin and pai-1, increased hdl was positively correlated with adiponectin levels and was negatively correlated with other anthropometric and biochemical parameters. table 5. correlation between bmi, waist circumference, cholesterol and circulating markers of inflammation and coagulation in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome correlations parameters bmi waist hdl ldl crp adiponectin insulin pai-1 bmi pearson correlation 1 0.474 ** -0.260 ** 0.351 ** 0.221 ** -0.180 ** 0.160 ** 0.365 ** sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 waist pearson correlation 0.474 ** 1 -0.128 ** 0.092 * 0.176 ** -0.041 0.159 ** 0.307 ** sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.006 0.048 0.000 0.378 0.001 0.000 hdl-c pearson correlation -0.260 ** -0.128 ** 1 -0.475 ** -0.188 ** 0.184 ** -0.135 ** -0.402 ** sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.006 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.004 0.000 ldl-c pearson correlation 0.351 ** 0.092 * -0.475 ** 1 0.246 ** -0.225 ** 0.161 ** 0.501 ** sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.048 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 crp pearson correlation 0.221 ** 0.176 ** -0.188 ** 0.246 ** 1 0.308 ** 0.552 ** 0.495 ** sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 adiponectin pearson correlation -0.180 ** -0.041 0.184 ** -0.225 ** 0.308 ** 1 0.557 ** 0.001 sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.378 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.988 insulin pearson correlation 0.160 ** 0.159 ** -0.135 ** 0.161 ** 0.552 ** 0.557 ** 1 0.471 ** sig. (2-tailed) 0.001 0.001 0.004 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 424 of 427 pai-1 pearson correlation 0.365 ** 0.307 ** -0.402 ** 0.501 ** 0.495 ** 0.001 0.471 ** 1 sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.988 0.000 ** correlation is significant at p < 0.01 (2-tailed). * correlation is significant at p < 0.05 (2-tailed) 4. discussion the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an extract of dg (dyglomera®) on anthropometric parameters, blood lipids, and other variables in obese patients with mets. because obesity results in increased visceral fat deposits that promote insulin resistance and inflammation through alteration of adipokine secretion, even modest reductions to weight and waist circumference are associated with favorable changes in serum adipocytokines [6]. compared to whole, ground powder [19], the extract (dyglomera®) induced a greater reduction in weight (11.15 kg vs. 7.67kg), bmi (4.13 kg/m 2 vs. 3.00 kg/m 2 ), abdominal circumference (10.72 cm vs. 7.17 cm), body fat (4.43 % vs. 3.20 %), systolic blood pressure (24.8 mm hg vs. 13.09 mm hg), and fasting blood glucose (30.7 mg/dl vs. 28.91 mg/dl). weight loss in overweight and obese individuals reduces mortality and morbidity, and is important in the treatment of obese patients. the current data suggest that weight loss per se leads to significant improvement in numerous cardiometabolic risk factors. in particular the dyglomera®-treated subjects exhibited significant decreases in pai-1, crp, and fasting insulin levels. in addition, they showed a significant increase in adiponectin concentrations, an adipokine whose plasma concentrations correlate positively with insulin sensitivity, and levels of which are lower both in obese and type 2 diabetic patients than in lean, healthy individuals [26]. hypoadiponectinemia is independently associated with the development of obesity-related mets, as well as insulin-resistant diabetes and atherosclerosis [27], and this relationship is stronger than that of any other inflammatory marker [28]. mechanisms of action of dyglomera® may include antioxidant activity and inhibition of ldl oxidation [17] as well as modulation of blood glucose and hba1c levels [19], all of which may have contributed to the effects conferred by dyglomera® treatment in the present study. dyslipidemia is a component of mets, which has an underlying cause of altered metabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins such as vldl and idl remnants [29,30]. elevated tag levels are also very common in both mets and the general population [31]. the use of dyglomera® by the general population could therefore have a preventive effect on dyslipidemia and mets. reducing ldl levels is generally considered a key factor in the management of cardiovascular risk because ldl particles are the main carriers of circulating cholesterol and play a key role in cholesterol transfer and metabolism [32]. the guidelines in the third report of the national cholesterol education program (adult treatment panel iii) (ncep atp iii) focus on ldl levels as the primary target of cholesterol-lowering therapy [20]. supplementation with dyglomera® could therefore be a useful strategy to lower ldl levels. in summary, dyglomera® reduces the weight and improves the atherogenic risk factors associated with mets after 8 weeks of treatment. the effects in the current study, which focused on the extract of dg (dyglomera®), appears to be stronger than those observed in previous functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 425 of 427 studies using whole, ground dg, thus conferring a superior anti-atherogenic capacity on dyglomera®. competing interests the authors declare that they have no competing interests. authors’ contributions julius oben conceived and coordinated the study, and prepared the manuscript. ngondi judith laure co-designed and worked on the initial draft of the manuscript. dieudonne kuate carried out anthropometric measurements, analytical work, statistical analyses and prepared the draft of the manuscript. blanche co etoundi carried out anthropometric measurements, analytical work and processed results. all authors read and approved the final manuscript. references: 1. centers for disease control and prevention (cdc). behavioral risk factor surveillance system survey data. atlanta, georgia: u.s. department of health and human services, centers for disease control and prevention, 2010. 2. eckel rh, grundy sm, zimmet pz. the metabolic syndrome. lancet 2005; 365: 1415–28. 3. ritchie sa, connell jmc. the link between abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. nutr metabol cardiovasc dis 2007; 17:319-26. 4. kadowaki t, yamauchi t, kubota n, hara k, ueki k, tobe k. adiponectin and adiponectin receptors in insulin resistance, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. j clin invest 2006; 116:1784–92. 5. galiste m, duarte j, zarzuel a. effects of dietary fibers on disturbances clustered in the metabolic syndrome. j nutr biochem 2008; 19:71–84. 6. valsamakis g, mcternan p, chetty r, al daghri n, field a, hanif w, barnett a, and kumar s. modest weight loss and reduction in waist circumference after medical treatment are associated with favorable changes in serum adipocytokines. metabolism 2004; 53:430-34. 7. national task force on the prevention and treatment of obesity. long term pharmacotherapy in the management of obesity. jama 1996; 276:1907–15. 8. bray ga, blackburn gl, ferguson jm, greenway fl, jain ak, mendel cm, mendels j, ryan dh, schwartz sl, scheinbaum ml, seaton tb. sibutramine produces dose-related weight loss. obes res relat metab disord 1999 ; 7 :189–98. 9. sjöström l, rissanen a, andersen t, boldrin m, golay a, koppeschaar hp, krempf m. for the european multicentre orlistat study group. randomised placebocontrolled trial of orlistat for weight loss and prevention of weight regain in obese patients lancet 1998 ; 352:167–72. 10. pari l, umamaheswari j. antihyperglycaemic activity of musa sapientum flowers: effect on lipid peroxidation in alloxan diabetic rats. phytother res 2000 ; 14:1-3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22bray%20ga%22%5bauthor%5d http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22blackburn%20gl%22%5bauthor%5d functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 426 of 427 11. valiathan ms, healing plants. current science 1998 ; 75:1122–27. 12. tchiégang c, mbougueng pd. chemical composition of spices used in the cooking of nah poh and nkui of western cameroon. tropicultura 2005 ; 23:193–200. 13. roth lw, keller f, u.s. patent 3,089,817, 1963. 14. fankam ag, kuete v, voukeng ik, kuiate jr, pages jm. antibacterial activities of selected cameroonian spices and their synergistic effects with antibiotics against multidrug-resistant phenotypes. bmc complementary and alternative medicine 2011; 11:104. doi:10.1186 /1472-6882-11104. 15. atsang akg, dzeufiet dpd, foyet hs, nana p, sokeng ds, dimo t, kamtchouing p. analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of dichrostachys glomerata (forssk.) hutch. fruits methanolic extract in rats. j phys pharm adv 2012; 2(8): 269-276 16. kudi ac, umoh ju, eduvie lo, gefu j. screening of some nigerian medicinal plants for antibacterial activity. j ethnopharm 1999; 67(2): 225-228. 17. kuate d, etoundi bco, soukontoua yb, ngondi jl, oben je. antioxidant characteristics of dichrostachys glomerata spice extracts. cyta-journal of food 2010; 8:23–37. 18. kuate, d. effects of some spices on glucose and lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. ph.d. thesis, university of yaounde, yaounde, cameroon. 2010. 19. kuate d, etoundi bc, ngondi jl, oben je. effects of dichrostachys glomerata spice on cardiovascular diseases risk factors in normoglycemic and type 2 diabetic obese volunteers. food res int 2011; 44:1197-02. 20. executive summary of the third report of the national cholesterol education program (ncep). expert panel on detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults (adult treatment panel iii). jama. 2001; 285:2486-97. 21. trinder p. determination of blood glucose using 4-aminophenazone as oxygen acceptor. j clin pathol 1969; 22: 158-61. 22. richmond w. preparation and properties of a cholesterol oxidase from nocardia sp. and its application to the enzymatic assay of total cholesterol in serum clin chem 1973; 19:1350–56. 23. bucolo g, david h. quantitative determination of serum triglycerides by the use of enzymes. clin chem 1973; 19:476–82. 24. bachorik ps, wood pd, albers jj, steiner p, dempsey m, kuba k, karlsson l. plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations determined after removal of other lipoproteins by heparin/manganese precipitation or by ultracentrifugation. clin chem 1976; 22: 1928–34. 25. friedewald wt, levy ri, fredrickson ds. estimation of the concentration of lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, without use of the preparative ultracentrifuge. clin chem 1972; 18:499-02. 26. chandran m, phillips sa, ciaraldi t, henry rr. adiponectin: more than just another fat cell hormone? diabetes care 2003; 26:2442–50. functional foods in health and disease 2013; 3(11):416-427 page 427 of 427 27. ouchi n, kihara s, arita y, nishida m, matsuyama a. adipocyte-derived plasma protein, adiponectin, suppresses lipid accumulation and class a scavenger receptor expression in human monocyte-derived macrophages circulation 2001;103:1057-63. 28. matsushita k, ishikawa t, sumita s, kobayashi t, ogawa h, inoue n, katsumi matsumoto k. comparison of circulating adiponectin and proinflammatory markers regarding their association with metabolic syndrome in japanese men. arterioscler thromb vasc biol 2006 ; 26:871–6. 29. gazi i, liberopoulos en, mikhailidis dp, elisaf m. metabolic syndrome: clinical features leading to therapeutic strategies. vasc dis prev 2004; 1:243-53. 30. brunzell jd, hokanson je. dyslipidemia of central obesity and insulin resistance. diabetes care 1999; 22:c10-c13. 31. liberopoulos en, daskalopoulou ss, mikhailidis dp. management of high triglycerides: what non specialists in lipids need to know. hell j cardiol 2005; 46:268-72. 32. bairaktari et, seferiadis ki, elisaf m. evaluation of methods for the measurement of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. j cardiovasc pharmacol therapeut 2005; 10:4554. effect of 1-o-alcylglycerols from sea hydrobionts on the metabolic status of rats with alimentary dyslipidemia | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 4 (2013): april 2013 / research articles effect of 1-o-alcylglycerols from sea hydrobionts on the metabolic status of rats with alimentary dyslipidemia authors yulia k. karaman vladivostok branch of the far eastern center of physiology and pathology of respiration-of sb ramn institute of medical climatology and rehabilitative treatment, 73-g russkay st., vladivostok 690105 tatyana p. novgorodtseva vladivostok branch of the far eastern center of physiology and pathology of respiration-of sb ramn institute of medical climatology and rehabilitative treatment, 73-g russkay st., vladivostok 690105 tatyana a. gvozdenko vladivostok branch of the far eastern center of physiology and pathology of respiration-of sb ramn institute of medical climatology and rehabilitative treatment, 73-g russkay st., vladivostok 690105 sergey p. kasynov a.v. zhirmunsky institute of marine biology of the far eastern branch of the russian academy of sciences, 17 palchevskogo st., vladivostok 690059 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i4.61 abstract objective: sea hydrobionts are a rich source of biologically active lipid compounds. search for new biologically active substances to determine their pharmacological effectiveness is of current interest. background: in recent interest held pharmaceuticals from marine hydrobionts containing 1-o-alkyl-diacylglycerol (adg). significant amounts of adg found in the tissues of some marine organisms of pacific ocean squid berryteuthis magister (up to 50% in the lipids of the liver), crab paralithodes camtschatica (10% lipids of the hepatopancreas). this makes it possible to use these aquatic animals as new sources of dietary supplements. in rats with alimentary dyslipidemia (dlp) examined the effect of nature 1-o-alkyl-glycerol (ag) on the metabolism of lipids, the state of the hepatobiliary, antioxidant systems and hematological parameters of blood. method: alimentary model dlp caused high-fat diet of beef fat and cholesterol. were injected ag in rats with dlp a dose of the 0.4 g/kg for 30 days. 1-o-alkyl-glycerol were obtained by hydrolysis of the lipids of the liver adg squid berryteuthis magister. biochemical parameters of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and liver enzymes measured in blood serum. investigated the total antioxidant activity (taa) of blood plasma, the activity of catalase in erythrocytes, glutathione reductase (gr) and glutathione peroxidase (gp) activity, glutathione (gsh) lever. the content of initial and final products of lipid peroxidation – hydroperoxides of lipids (hpl), malondialdehydes (mda) in the blood were investigated. determination of hematological parameters is carried out on «abacus» (usa). statistical significance of differences was calculated by student's t-test. results: introduction ag resulted in a reduction in triglycerides in the blood serum of rats by 24.2% compared with rats with dlp (p <0.05), increase in hdl-c by 63% (p <0.001). there was an increase in blood glucose concentration by 21.3% (p <0.001), and lactate dehydrogenase (ldg) activity by 30% (p <0.05), alt – 24% (p <0.001) compared with rats with dlp. after use ag in rats showed an increase in the activity of catalase, reduction of lipid hydroperoxides in plasma. showed normalization of the taa and the trend to reduce the concentration of mda. in the glutathione-redox system under the influence of ag increased activity gr, gp, gsh levels. after use ag an increase in the total number of red blood cells in the blood by 40% (p < 0,001), total hemoglobin by 38% (p < 0.001), platelet count by 30% (p < 0.001 ), lymphocytes 43% (p < 0.001), blood clotting time increased by 57%. conclusion: the study showed that the use of ag causes increased protective functions - hematopoietic, immune-stimulating and antioxidant. these data suggest the widespread use of ag from lipid liver squid berryteuthis magister in rehabilitation practice of various pathologies. keywords: natural 1-o-alkyl-lglycerols, dislipidemia, metabolic status downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-04-30 issue vol. 3 no. 4 (2013): april 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com dialysis free protocol for some end stage renal disease patients (khosroshahi protocol) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 8 (2012): august 2012 / case report dialysis free protocol for some end stage renal disease patients (khosroshahi protocol) authors hamid tayebi khosroshahi department of internal medicine, dialysis center, imam reza hospital, tabriz university of medical sciences, tabriz kamyar kalantar-zadeh harold simmons center for kidney disease research and epidemiology at harbor-ucla medical center, torrance, ca doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i8.104 abstract background: the number of patients with end stage renal disease (esrd) is growing annually around the world. provision of renal replacement therapy in the form of dialysis and transplant is relatively expensive. recent studies have shown no survival benefit of early initiation of dialysis. given recent outcome data of the timing of dialysis treatment and the expenses and logistics of hemodialysis procedure have stimulated research on alternative strategies. the aim of this study is to introduce another type of renal replacement therapy for selective patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (ckd). methods: in a case series we used a so-called “dialysis free protocol” consisting of a low protein diet, uremic toxin adsorbents, and prebiotics for selective esrd patients who had dialysis access constraints or did not agree placement of hemodialysis vascular access or peritoneal dialysis catheter. findings: clinical and biochemical results of this study showed that these patients were not deteriorating during the study period and blood urea nitrogen (bun) & serum creatinin levels were not elevated in these months. participating patients were relatively well throughout the study without signs of florid uremia and without a need for emergent or urgent dialysis. conclusion: we conclude that our proposed dialysis free protocol reduces the need for dialysis treatment at least transiently. whether this protocol can reduce the need for dialysis treatment requires additional studies. key words: end stage renal disease, low protein diet, prebiotics, activated charcoal downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-08-30 issue vol. 2 no. 8 (2012): august 2012 section case report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com uses of justicia spicigera in medicine and as a source of pigments | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 9 (2014): september 2014 / review articles uses of justicia spicigera in medicine and as a source of pigments authors itzamná baqueiro-peña depto de ing. química, alimentos y ambiental. universidad de las américas puebla cholula, puebla 72820, josé a. guerrero-beltrán depto de ing. química, alimentos y ambiental. universidad de las américas puebla cholula, puebla 72820, doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i9.150 abstract background: justicia spicigera (muicle) is a plant that has been used from the pre-hispanic era to contemporary times in mexico. it has been used in the traditional medicine for healing diseases such as dysentery, diabetes, leukemia, and anemia, just to mention some human disorders. it has been used for obtaining indigo dye after making extraction with water to be used for coloring of baskets, crafts, and clothes. the pigments, as a powder, have been studied for use for coloring foods. the dyeing characteristics of the j. spicigera pigments have antioxidant properties due to the flavonoids content. since this plant has been used for making infusions to people for curing some physical disorders, today j. spicigera is being studied to take advance of its dyeing and antioxidant properties to be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. key words: justicia spicigera (muicle), antioxidants, traditional medicine, pigments for foods, indigo, phytochemicals downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-09-06 issue vol. 4 no. 9 (2014): september 2014 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-atherosclerotic effects of konjac | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 4 (2015): april 2015 / review articles anti-atherosclerotic effects of konjac authors hidekatsu yanai department of internal medicine, national center for global health and medicine kohnodai hospital, chiba, japan hiroki adachi department of internal medicine, national center for global health and medicine kohnodai hospital, chiba, japan hisayuki katsuyama department of internal medicine, national center for global health and medicine kohnodai hospital, chiba, japan hidetaka hamasaki department of internal medicine, national center for global health and medicine kohnodai hospital, chiba, japan akahito sako department of internal medicine, national center for global health and medicine kohnodai hospital, chiba, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i4.178 abstract definition: the konjac plant comes from the genus amorphophallus. japanese food uses konjac cake. konjac contains almost no calories and a great amount of dietary fiber. here, we reviewed possible anti-atherosclerotic effects of konjac, using the search pubmed ®. konjac ingestion is likely beneficially associated with obesity, blood pressure, lipid and glucose metabolism. however, evidence is lacking on the relationship between konjac ingestion and development of atherosclerotic diseases. to more fully understand the anti-atherosclerotic effects of konjac, future studies, preferably with larger numbers of subjects, will be performed. keywords: atherosclerosis, body weight, glucose, konjac mannan, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-04-30 issue vol. 5 no. 4 (2015): april 2015 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com development of functional food products in relation to obesity | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 / review articles development of functional food products in relation to obesity authors monika choudhary department of food and nutrition, college of home science, punjab agricultural university, ludhiana, 141004 kiran grover department of food and nutrition, college of home science, punjab agricultural university, ludhiana, 141004 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i6.90 abstract the development of new eating habits, as well as actual trends in production and consumption, has a health, environmental and social impact. the entire world is fighting diseases characteristic of the modern age such as obesity, osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, allergies, and dental problems. with a global increase in the prevalence of obesity, both nutrition and exercise play key roles in its prevention and treatment. natural product (nutraceutical) interventions are currently being investigated on a large-scale basis as potential treatments for obesity and weight management. with advancing nutritional sciences, several nutrients such as; low-glycemic-index carbohydrates, 5-hydroxytryptophan, green tea extract, and chromium have been shown to promote weight loss. the first two nutrients decrease appetite, green tea increases the 24 hr energy expenditure, and chromium promotes the composition of the weight lost to be fat rather than lean tissue. these have been assembled, in efficacious doses, into a new functional food product and described in this review. each component has already been shown to promote weight loss independently in clinical trials. key words: obesity, weight loss, functional foods downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-06-06 issue vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of mixed-tocotrienols in hypercholesterolemic subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 3 (2011): march 2011 / research articles effect of mixed-tocotrienols in hypercholesterolemic subjects authors kah hay yuen school of pharmaceutical sciences, university of science malaysia, 11800 penang jia woei wong school of pharmaceutical sciences, university of science malaysia, 11800 penang ai beoy lim school of pharmaceutical sciences, university of science malaysia, 11800 penang bee hong ng school of pharmaceutical sciences, university of science malaysia, 11800 penang wai peng choy school of pharmaceutical sciences, university of science malaysia, 11800 penang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i3.136 abstract background: studies on the cholesterol lowering activity of tocotrienols have yielded mixed results, with some showing cholesterol lowering effect while some showing no activity. aim: a randomized, double-blind, parallel group study was conducted to investigate the cholesterol lowering activity of tocotrienols.  methods: thirty-two hypercholesterolemic subjects were randomly assigned to orally receive either 300 mg of mixed tocotrienols capsules daily or placebo capsules containing 300 mg of soya bean oil for a period of 6 months. the subjects were monitored before supplementation and monthly thereafter for their serum cholesterol as well as tocotrienol and tocopherol concentrations. results: the serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (ldl) cholesterol of the subjects in the tocotrienol supplementation group were decreased significantly by -8.9 ± 0.9% and -12.8 ± 2.6% respectively after 4 months of supplementation and the reduction persisted till the end of the 6-month study, with a reduction of -10.8 ± 1.0% and  -17.3 ± 1.8%, respectively from baseline. moreover, there was a 22-fold increase in the total tocotrienol concentrations from baseline during supplementation compared to the placebo group, while the concentration of α-tocopherol recorded only a modest increase. on the other hand, the serum cholesterol, total tocotrienol and α-tocopherol concentrations of subjects in the placebo group remained essentially unchanged. conclusions: supplementation with mixed tocotrienols at dose of 300 mg per day resulted in the lowering of the serum total and ldl cholesterol levels after 5 months of supplementation. keywords: tocotrienols, cholesterol-lowering, total cholesterol, ldl cholesterol, tocopherols downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-03-31 issue vol. 1 no. 3 (2011): march 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com content validity and reliability of a food frequency questionnaire to measure eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intakes in young adults: a pilot study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 12 (2012): december 2012 / short report content validity and reliability of a food frequency questionnaire to measure eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intakes in young adults: a pilot study authors jennifer a. hanson school of human ecology, louisiana tech university, p.o. box 3167, ruston, la 71272 richard r. rosenkranz department of human nutrition, kansas state university, 212 justin hall, manhattan, ks 66506 carol ann holcomb department of human nutrition, kansas state university, 212 justin hall, manhattan, ks 66506 mark d. haub department of human nutrition, kansas state university, 212 justin hall, manhattan, ks 66506 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i12.77 abstract background: the food environment is rapidly changing with regard to omega-3 fatty acids. research is hindered by the lack of a tool specifically designed to measure intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in us populations. the purpose of this pilot study was to assess the content validity and reliability of a novel 14-item food frequency questionnaire (ffq) designed to measure contemporary sources of eicosapentaenoic aid (epa) and docosahexaenoic acid (dha). methods: during may of 2009, college students (n = 165) completed the ffq and provided feedback. forty-five completed the questionnaire a second time allowing for the evaluation of test-retest reliability. results: none of the students reported consuming a food naturally rich in epa and dha that was not included in the ffq. overall instrument reliability (n = 54) was strong (ρ = 0.86, p < 0.001) and the reliability for each of the non-functional food items ranged from moderate to strong (ρ = 0.48 to 0.86, p < 0.001). correlation coefficients for each of the functional food items were low and/or non-significant. uncertainty regarding omega-3 functional foods was listed as a reason by eight of the twelve who felt one or more of the questions were difficult to answer. conclusions: overall instrument reliability was strong and content validity was good. nonetheless, participant feedback, and the decreased test-retest coefficients for the omega-3 functional foods, suggests unfamiliarity may be problematic when measuring intakes from these food sources. keywords: functional foods, n-3 fatty acids, dietary assessment, seafood, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-12-05 issue vol. 2 no. 12 (2012): december 2012 section short report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of taurine intake on serum lipids in young women | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 5 (2015): may 2015 / research articles effects of taurine intake on serum lipids in young women authors sadako matsui department of food and nutrition, faculty of human sciences and design, japan women's university, 2-8-1, mejirodai, bunkyo-ku, tokyo, 112-8681, japan chizuko maruyama department of food and nutrition, faculty of human sciences and design, japan women's university, 2-8-1, mejirodai, bunkyo-ku, tokyo, 112-8681, japan hiroe arai department of food and nutrition, faculty of human sciences and design, japan women's university, 2-8-1, mejirodai, bunkyo-ku, tokyo, 112-8681, japan sachie hashimoto department of food and nutrition, faculty of human sciences and design, japan women's university, 2-8-1, mejirodai, bunkyo-ku, tokyo, 112-8681, japan tamami asakusa department of food and nutrition, faculty of human sciences and design, japan women's university, 2-8-1, mejirodai, bunkyo-ku, tokyo, 112-8681, japan hiroshi yoshida department of laboratory medicine, the jikei university school of medicine, 163-1, kashiwashita, kashiwa-shi, chiba, 277-8567, japan toshitsugu ishikawa department of nutrition and life science, faculty of applied bioscience, kanagawa institute of technology, 1030, shimo-ogino, atsugi, kanagawa, 243-0292, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i5.180 abstract background: taurine is an abundant amino acid in human cells, promoting ocular and biliary health, which is also used to treat congestive heart failure, hypertension, and hepatitis. recently, taurine-enriched energy drinks have become popular with young adults, but the effects of taurine on serum lipids in young adults are unknown. objective: we studied the influence of oral administration of taurine on serum lipid levels in healthy young women. methods: ten healthy young women with a mean body mass index of 20.0kg/m2, apolipoprotein e (apoe) phenotype 3/3 and normal menstrual cycles participated. each subject was instructed to orally ingest 1g of taurine powder after each meal (3g/day) in addition to their usual diets during one menstrual cycle. before and at the end of taurine intake, physical measurements and blood collection were performed in the morning after a 12-h fast, and 3-day weighted dietary records were obtained. concentrations of serum lipids, apolipoproteins, and fatty acids in the serum phospholipid fraction were measured. results: the subjects showed good compliance with taurine intake and none reported adverse effects during the experimental period. after taurine intake, concentrations of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c), free cholesterol, and apolipoprotein b (apob) increased (p<0.05), while phospholipids tended to increase (p=0.051). fatty acids in the serum phospholipid fraction also significantly increased (p<0.05). however, triglyceride, remnant-like particle cholesterol, remnant-like particle triglyceride, apoe, the apolipoprotein a-1 (apoa1)/apob ratio and the ldl-c/apob ratio were unchanged. furthermore, body weight was significantly increased (p<0.01), but did not correlate with changes either in serum lipids or nutrient intakes. conclusion: these results suggest that high taurine intake affects lipoprotein metabolism and increases serum lipids in slightly lean young women. key words: taurine, slightly lean young women, serum lipids, remnant lipoprotein, fatty acids of the serum phospholipid fraction. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-05-29 issue vol. 5 no. 5 (2015): may 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antioxidant activity and mechanism of protocatechuic acid in vitro | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 7 (2011): july 2011 / research articles antioxidant activity and mechanism of protocatechuic acid in vitro authors xican li school of chinese herbal medicin, guangzhou university of chinese medicine, guangzhou xiaozhen wang school of chinese herbal medicin, guangzhou university of chinese medicine, guangzhou dongfeng chen the state key laboratory of pharmaceutical biotechnology, department of biochemistry, nanjing university, nanjing shuzhi chen school of chinese herbal medicin, guangzhou university of chinese medicine, guangzhou doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i7.127 abstract background: protocatechuic acid (pca) is a natural phenolic acid widely distributed in plants and is considered as an active component of some traditional chinese herbal medicines such as cibotium barometz (l.) j.sm, stenoloma chusanum (l.) ching, ilex chinensis sims. pca was reported to possess various pharmacological effects which may be closely correlated with its antioxidant activities. however, the antioxidant of pca has not been investigated systematically yet. methods: in the study, the antioxidant activities of protocatechuic acid were measured in vitro using various antioxidant assays including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (dpph•), 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (abts+•), superoxide anion radicals (•o2-) and hydroxyl radical (•oh) scavenging activity, ferric ions (fe3+) and cupric ions (cu2+) reducing power, ferrous ions (fe2+) and cupric ions (cu2+) chelating activity, compared with the positive controls trolox or bht. results: in all assays, pca along with positive controls exhibited dose-dependently antioxidant ability. comparing to a standard antioxidant trolox, the relative antioxidant activity of pca (i.e. the ratio of ic50(trolox)/ic50(pca) ) was calculated as 2.8, 2.3, 3.7, 6.1, 4.2, 1.0, 2.7, 1.5, respectively, for dpph, abts, reducing power (fe3+), reducing power (cu2+), superoxide anion radical-scavenging, hydroxyl radical-scavenging, chelating ability (fe2+) and chelating ability (cu2+).  conclusion: comparing to trolox, pca shows much more effective antioxidant activity in vitro in both lipid and aqueous media. hence, it could therefore be used in pharmacological or food industry as a natural antioxidant. it may exhibit antioxidant activity by both chelating metal transition ions as well as by scavenging free radicals via donating hydrogen atom (h•) or electron (e). keywords: protocatechuic acid, antioxidant, reducing power, free radical-scavenging, chelating ability. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-07-31 issue vol. 1 no. 7 (2011): july 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com fermentation by gut microbiota cultured in a simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem is improved by probiotic enterococcus faecium crl 183 | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 / research articles fermentation by gut microbiota cultured in a simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem is improved by probiotic enterococcus faecium crl 183 authors katia sivieri department of food and nutrition, laboratory study of probiotics and prebiotics, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences of araraquara, unesp-paulista state university, araraquara, são paulo fernanda bianchi department of food and nutrition, laboratory study of probiotics and prebiotics, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences of araraquara, unesp-paulista state university, araraquara, são paulo maria a. tallarico school of engineering of são carlos, university of são paulo, sao paulo elizeu a. rossi department of food and nutrition, laboratory study of probiotics and prebiotics, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences of araraquara, unesp-paulista state university, araraquara, são paulo doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i10.119 abstract background: enterococci are used in a large number of dairy products, such as starter cultures in food supplements and in foods considered functional. in vitro gut fermentation models present an unmatched opportunity of performing studies frequently allenged in humans and animals owing to ethical concerns. a dynamic model of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (shime) was designed to better simulate conditions intestinal microbiota. methods: the shime model was used to study the effect of enterococuus faecium crl 183 on the fermentation pattern of the colon microbiota. initially, an inoculum prepared from human feces was introduced into the reactor vessels and stabilized over 2 wk using a culture medium. this stabilization period was followed by a 2-wk control period during which the microbiota were monitored. the microbiota were then subjected to a 4-wk treatment period by adding 108 cfu/ml of the enterococcus faecium crl 183 to vessel one (the stomach compartment). results: the addition resulted into an overall increase of bacterial marker populations (enterobacteriaceae, lactobacillus spp., bifidobacterium spp. and clostridium spp.), with a significant increase of the lactobacillus sp. and bifidobacterium sp populations. the short-chain fatty acid (scfa) concentration increased during the supplementation period; this was due mainly to a significant increase in the levels of acetic, butyric and propionic acids. ammonium concentrations increased during the supplementation period. conclusions: results showed that the major effect of e. faecium crl 183 was found in the ascendant and transverse colon.  key words: gut microbiota, enterococcus, gastrointestinal resource management, simulator of human intestinal microbial ecosystem (shime) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-10-08 issue vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com chemoprevention of hbv-related hepatocellular carcinoma by the combined product of resveratrol and silymarin in transgenic mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 / research articles chemoprevention of hbv-related hepatocellular carcinoma by the combined product of resveratrol and silymarin in transgenic mice authors wen-chuan hsieh national institute of infectious diseases and vaccinology, national health research institutes, tainan ching-wen yang institute of basic medical research, national cheng kung university medical school, tainan yi-sheng haung national institute of infectious diseases and vaccinology, national health research institutes, tainan ting-wei chao national institute of infectious diseases and vaccinology, national health research institutes, tainan tin-fen tsai faculty of life sciences and institute of genetics, national yang-ming university, taipei ih-jen su national institute of infectious diseases and vaccinology, national health research institutes, tainan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i9.41 abstract background: patients with chronic hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection are at a high risk to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc). recently, metabolic syndrome has been found to carry a risk for hcc development. considering the limitation of chemotherapeutic drugs for hccs, the development of chemopreventive agents for high risk chronic hbv carriers is urgently demanded. in this study, we used combined silymarin and resveratrol extract which have been shown to exhibit biologic effects on activating peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (ppar) and inhibiting mtor signaling in a transgenic mice model harboring hbv viral oncoproteins. methods: the transgenic mice model harboring hbx and pre-s2 mutant constructs which develop hcc was adopted. first, we in vitro tested the ideal combination dosages of the silymarin and resveratrol product, and then we fed the natural product to the transgenic mice. the chemopreventive effects on preventing the development of hcc were evaluated. results: mtt assay showed an enhanced effect of the combined silymarin and resveratrol product on the reduction of cell proliferation in two hepatoma cell lines, huh-7 and hep g2. in vitro reporter assay and western blot analyses revealed that the combined product could activate ppar/pgc-1α signaling and inhibit mtor expression. in vivo, the combined products could significantly ameliorate fatty liver and reduce hccs in transgenic mice harboring hbv oncoproteins. conclusions: the combined silymarin and resveratrol product exhibits a synergistic effect on the reduction of hcc development in transgenic mice model and may represent a potential agent for the prevention of hcc in high risk chronic hbv carriers. key words: hbv, hcc, transgenic mice, chemoprevention downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-09-30 issue vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a randomized, controlled trial to assess short-term black pepper consumption on 24-hour energy expenditure and substrate utilization | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 10 (2013): october 2013 / research articles a randomized, controlled trial to assess short-term black pepper consumption on 24-hour energy expenditure and substrate utilization authors annalouise o’connor unc nutrition research institute, university of north carolina chapel hill, north carolina research campus, kannapolis, north carolina karen d. corbin unc nutrition research institute, university of north carolina chapel hill, north carolina research campus, kannapolis, north carolina david c. nieman human performance laboratory, appalachian state university, north carolina research campus, kannapolis north carolina andrew g. swick unc nutrition research institute, university of north carolina chapel hill, north carolina research campus, kannapolis, north carolina doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i10.38 abstract background: thermogenic ingredients may play a role in weight management. in vitro and rodent work suggests that components of black pepper may impact energy expenditure, and in humans, other tprv1 agonists e.g. capsaicin, augment ee. objectives: to determine the impact of bp on 24-hour ee, respiratory quotient, and biochemical markers of metabolism and satiety, a randomized, controlled, cross-over study of black pepper (0.5mg/meal) versus no pepper control was conducted in post-menopausal women. subjects spent two 24-hour periods in a whole room indirect calorimeter. results: post-meal glucose, insulin, gut peptides and catecholamines were measured. energy expenditure, respiratory quotient, or biochemical markers assessed did not differ significantly between the black pepper and no pepper control study days. conclusions: our findings do not support a role for black pepper in modulating energy expenditure in overweight postmenopausal women. future work targeting alternative populations, administering black pepper in the fasted state, or in combination with other spices, may reveal the thermogenic effect of this spice. trial registration: this trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (nct01729143). key words: black pepper, piperine, energy expenditure, metabolic chamber downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-10-15 issue vol. 3 no. 10 (2013): october 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com comparison of nitrogen bioaccessibility from salmon and whey protein hydrolysates using a human gastrointestinal model (tim-1) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 / research articles comparison of nitrogen bioaccessibility from salmon and whey protein hydrolysates using a human gastrointestinal model (tim-1) authors bomi framroze hofseth biocare as, molovegen 6, 6000 ã…lesund patricia savard institute of nutrition and functional foods (inaf), 2440 hochelaga blvd., université laval, quebec city, qc diane gagnon institute of nutrition and functional foods (inaf), 2440 hochelaga blvd., université laval, quebec city, qc véronique richard institute of nutrition and functional foods (inaf), 2440 hochelaga blvd., université laval, quebec city, qc sylvie f gauthier institute of nutrition and functional foods (inaf), 2440 hochelaga blvd., université laval, quebec city, qc doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i5.10 abstract background: the tim-1 system is a computer-controlled multi-compartmental dynamic model that closely simulates in vivo gastrointestinal tract digestion in humans. during digestion, the compounds released from meal matrix by gastric and intestinal secretions (enzymes) are progressively absorbed through semipermeable membranes depending on their molecular weight. these absorbed (dialysed) compounds are considered as bioaccessible, which means that they can be theoretically absorbed by the small intestine in the body. methods: salmon protein hydrolysate (sph), whey protein hydrolysates extensively (wph-high) or weakly (wph-low) hydrolysed, non-hydrolysed whey protein isolate (wpi) and mixtures of wpi:sph (90:10, 80:20) were digested in tim-1 using the conditions for a fast gastrointestinal transit that simulate the digestion of a liquid meal in human adults. during digestion (2 hours), samples were collected in intestinal compartments (duodenum, jejunum, and ileum) and in both jejunal and ileal dialysates to determine their nitrogen content. all the products were compared in terms of kinetics of nitrogen absorption through the semipermeable membranes (bioaccessible nitrogen) and nitrogen distribution throughout the intestinal compartments at the end of the 2 hour digestion. results: after a 2 h-digestion in tim-1, sph was the protein substrate from which the highest amount of nitrogen (67.0%) becomes available for the small intestine absorption. wph-high had the second highest amount (56.0%) of bioaccessible nitrogen while this amount decreased to 38.5–42.2% for the other protein substrates. the high nitrogen bioaccessibility of sph is consistent with its richness in low molecular weight peptides (50% < 1000 da). conclusions: the results of this study indicate that sph provides a higher proportion of bioaccessible nitrogen to a healthy adult compared to all forms of whey proteins, including extensively hydrolysed whey protein hydrolysate. the substitution of non-hydrolysed wpi by small amounts of sph (10–20%) improved slightly its nitrogen bioaccessibility, making the mixture particularly suitable for applications such as medical foods that require rapid protein uptake and where the use of extensively hydrolysed whey protein is unfeasible due to its undesirable organoleptic properties. keywords: salmon protein hydrolysate, whey protein, nitrogen bioaccessibility, tim-1 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-27 issue vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com bio-active compounds of bitter melon genotypes (momordica charantia l.) in relation to their physiological functions | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 / research articles bio-active compounds of bitter melon genotypes (momordica charantia l.) in relation to their physiological functions authors shahidul islam department of agriculture, mail slot 4913, university of arkansas at pine bluff, 1200 north university drive, pine bluff, ar 71601 mohammad jalaluddin department of agriculture, mail slot 4913, university of arkansas at pine bluff, 1200 north university drive, pine bluff, ar 71601 navam s. hettiarachchy department of food science, university of arkansas, fayetteville, ar 72701 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i2.139 abstract background: bitter melon (momordica charantia l) is one of the most popular cooked vegetables in many asian countries. its experimental use in mice has indicated improvement in glucose tolerance against type ii diabetes and reduction in blood cholesterol. however, it has not been proven which alkaloids, polypeptides, or their combinations in the bitter melon extract are responsible for the medicinal effects. green and white varieties of bitter melon differ strikingly in their bitter tastes, green being much more bitter than white. it is not yet known whether they are different in their special nutritional and hypoglycemic properties. nutritional qualities of bitter melons such as protein, amino acids, minerals, and polyphenolics contents were determined using four selected varieties such as indian green [ig], indian white [iw], chinese green [cg], and chinese white [cw] grown at the university of arkansas at pine bluff [uapb] agricultural research center. results indicated that protein levels of iw were significantly higher than ig in both flesh and seed. methods: four bitter melon varieties, indian green [ig], indian white [iw], chinese green [cg] and chinese white [cw] were used for phytochemical analyses to determine protein contents, protein hydrolysis, amino acids contents, and their antioxidant and antimutagenic activities. all analyses were conducted following standard methods. statistical analyses were conducted using jmp 5 software package [sas]. the tukey’s hsd procedure was used for the significance of differences at the 5% level. results: moisture contents across the four varieties of bitter melon flesh ranged between 92.4 and 93.5%, and that of seed ranged between 53.3 and 75.9%. protein contents of the flesh were highest in iw [9.8%] and lowest in cg [8.4%]. seed protein contents were the highest in iw [31.3%] and lowest in ig [27.0%]. overall, white varieties had higher protein contents than the green varieties. compared with soy protein, most of the essential amino acid contents of bitter melon were similar as in soy proteins. some amino acids such as alanine, glycine, and valanine were relatively higher in bitter melon flesh than in soy protein. phenolics contents of the flesh, seed, and seed coat tissue [sct] were significantly different [p<0.05] among the four varieties. the four varieties were similar in their antioxidant activities of the flesh tissues; however, they were significantly different in their antioxidant activities in the seed and seed coat tissues [sct]. bitter melon varieties iw and cg, tested for antimutagenic effects, both flesh and seed had considerably high activities against benzo[a]pyrene with salmonella ta98 [92-100% inhibition] and salmonella ta100 [79-86% inhibition]. conclusion: based on these studies, bitter melon is a good source of phenolic compounds. all four varieties tested showed considerably high antioxidant and antimutagenic activities. therefore, these natural plant phenolics can be a good source of biologically active compounds that may be applied in many food systems to enhance food values and special nutritional qualities. further studies will be needed using more genetically diverse varieties to pin point the bioactive and functional compounds and their physiological properties. key words: momordica charantia, protein, polyphenolics, antioxidant, antimutagenicity downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-02-17 issue vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com amino acid profile of raw and locally processed seeds of prosopis africana and ricinus communis: potential antidotes to protein malnutrition | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 4 (2012): april 2012 / research articles amino acid profile of raw and locally processed seeds of prosopis africana and ricinus communis: potential antidotes to protein malnutrition authors chidi u. igwe department of biochemistry, federal university of technology, owerri okey a. ojiako department of biochemistry, federal university of technology, owerri ken c. anugweje department of health services, university of port harcourt, port harcourt linus a. nwaogu department of biochemistry, federal university of technology, owerri cosmas o. ujowundu department of biochemistry, federal university of technology, owerri doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i4.95 abstract background: increasing incidence of malnutrition occasioned by high incidence of hunger, worsening food situation in the world, insufficient availability and high cost of animal protein sources, has necessitated extensive research into and use of alternative plant protein sources especially underexploited leguminous seeds. methods: flours from raw, boiled and fermented seeds of prosopis africana and ricinus communis were evaluated for crude protein and amino acid (aa) profiles, and their protein qualities determined. results: fermentation improved the protein contents of raw seeds of p. africana and r. communis by 18.70% and 3.95% respectively. in the raw and fermented p. africana seeds, glutamate at 132.60 ± 1.30 and 182.70 ± 3.02 mg/g crude protein (mg/gcp) was the most abundant amino acid (aa), while leucine (62.80 ± 0.60 and 79.50 ± 2.01 mg/gcp) was the most concentrated essential amino acid (eaa). aspartate (151.90 ± 2.01 and 170.10 ± 2.00 mg/gcp) and arginine (72.80 ± 2.01 and 78.60 ± 2.00 mg/gcp) were the most concentrated and abundant non-essential amino acid (neaa) and eaa in the raw and fermented samples of r. communis respectively. the total aa concentrations (mg/gcp) of raw and fermented p. africana were 733.00 and 962.60 respectively, while those of r. communis were 823.50 and 894.10 respectively. the total eaa contents (mg/gcp) for p. africana were 311.00 (raw) and 404.50 (fermented), and for r. communis; 401.10 (raw) and 430.30 (fermented). threonine was the limiting eaa in raw and fermented p. africana, whereas lysine was the limiting eaa in r. communis raw sample. fermentation significantly (p<0.05) increased the individual aa compositions of p. africana and r. communis by 94% and 53% respectively, while boiling reduced these parameters significantly (p<0.05) by 47% and 82% respectively. conclusion: p. africana and r. communis seeds are potentially important plant sources of protein and essential amino acids, and so could be of great importance in combating malnutrition and food security problems generally. key words: amino acid score; condiments; crude protein; fermentation; legumes; nutrition downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-04-22 issue vol. 2 no. 4 (2012): april 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com flavocoxid (limbrel ®) manages osteoarthritis through modification of multiple inflammatory pathways: a review | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 / review articles flavocoxid (limbrel ®) manages osteoarthritis through modification of multiple inflammatory pathways: a review authors bruce p. burnett primus pharmaceuticals, inc., 4725 n. scottsdale road, suite 200, scottsdale, az 85251 robert m. levy primus pharmaceuticals, inc., 4725 n. scottsdale road, suite 200, scottsdale, az 85251 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i11.74 abstract limbrel (flavocoxid) is marketed as an fda-regulated medical food for the clinical dietary management of osteoarthritis (oa) to be used under physician supervision. flavocoxid is composed of a >90% mixture of baicalin and catechin and represents a non-targeted anti-inflammatory which works differently than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids) that bind to and only inhibit the cyclooxygenase moieties of cox-1 and cox-2. flavocoxid binds to and weakly modulates the peroxidase activity of the cox enzymes permitting low level expression of prostaglandins (pgs), prostacyclin (pgi2) and thromboxane (txa2). in addition, flavocoxid weakly inhibits phospholipase a2 (pla2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-lox) as well as increases iϰbα and prevents nuclear factor kappa b (nfϰb) activation/induction of inflammatory genes such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnfα), interleukin-1β (il-1 β), il-6, cox-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (inos) and 5-lox. in clinical studies, flavocoxid shows equivalent efficacy to naproxen with statistically fewer renal (edema) and upper gastrointestinal (gi) side effects, does not affect platelet function and bleeding times, does not change international normalized ratio (inr) in warfarinized patients, is well-tolerated in patients with previous nsaid-induced gi side effects, and decreases or eliminates the use of gastroprotective medications in patients who previously required them to tolerate nsaids. with its broad, non-targeted and multiple weak activities which result in fewer side effects compared to nsaids, flavocoxid represents a different way managing oa by working on the underlying and multiple causes of cartilage degradation as well as joint inflammation.    keywords: flavocoxid, limbrel, osteoarthritis, inflammatory pathways, and medical foods downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-11-03 issue vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com supplementation of powdered black cumin (nigella sativa) seeds reduces the risk of hypercholesterolemia | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 / research articles supplementation of powdered black cumin (nigella sativa) seeds reduces the risk of hypercholesterolemia authors m. tauseef sultan department of food sciences, bahauddin z akariya university multan masood sadiq butt national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture, faisalabad rabia shabeer ahmad department of food sciences, gc university, faisalabad rizwana batool national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture, faisalabad ambreen naz national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture, faisalabad hafiz suleria national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture, faisalabad doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i12.109 abstract background: functional and nutraceutical foods are gaining immense popularity among the masses. plants and their bioactive molecules are of prime importance. although various plants from different geographical areas have been tested in the past, many horizons still need to be addressed. black cumin (nigella sativa l.) is one such example that is quite popular in south asia and the middle east. context and purpose: the present research study was designed to expedite the role of black cumin seed in reducing the risk of hypercholesterolemia. for the purpose, thirty sprague dawley rats were procured from the national institute of health (nih) in islamabad, pakistan, and further split up into three groups, (10 rats each). experimental diets were prepared using powdered black cumin (pbc) at 1% and 2%, and compared with the placebo. results: the results revealed that pbc was effective in reducing the serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoproteins (ldl). additionally, the experimental diets resulted in a non-significant increase in high-density lipoprotein (hdl). overall, powdered black cumin at 1% and 2% reduced cholesterol level by 6.73, and 4.48%, ldl by 24.79, and 24.32% respectively. however, the supplementation of pbc at 2% resulted in marked variations as increasing tendency, which was recorded for cholesterol and triglycerides contents after 28 days of study. conclusion: present research investigation brightened the prospects of using powdered black cumin seed in diet based therapies to improve the lipid profile. further studies are still required to assess the phytochemistry of the plants and indeed the functional ingredients responsible for such health benefits. such studies would bring meticulousness for utilization of black cumin seeds as a functional food. keywords: functional foods, black cumin, lipid profile, cholesterol, triglycerides downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-12-30 issue vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com molecular mechanism of intracellular lipid accumulation: suppressive effect of pycnogenolr in liver cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 / review articles molecular mechanism of intracellular lipid accumulation: suppressive effect of pycnogenolr in liver cells authors shoichiro ikuyama department of metabolism, hematology and rheumatic diseases (dmhrds), kyushu university beppu hospital, beppu 874-0838 bin fan department of metabolism, hematology and rheumatic diseases (dmhrds), kyushu university beppu hospital, beppu 874-0838 jian-qiu gu department of metabolism, hematology and rheumatic diseases (dmhrds), kyushu university beppu hospital, beppu 874-0838 kumiko mukae department of metabolism, hematology and rheumatic diseases (dmhrds), kyushu university beppu hospital, beppu 874-0838 hideyuki watanabe department of metabolism, hematology and rheumatic diseases (dmhrds), kyushu university beppu hospital, beppu 874-0838 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i9.40 abstract cells are physiologically ready to accumulate lipids such as triacylglycerides in the cytoplasm. five classes of perilipin (plin) family proteins are known to be involved in the process of intracellular lipid accumulation. plin2 is expressed ubiquitously including adipocytes, hepatocytes and macrophages. over-expression of plin2 is demonstrated in the lesions of fatty liver diseases and atherosclerosis. suppression of plin2 expression prevents from developing these pathological conditions in animal models, suggesting that plin2 could be a therapeutic target molecule for excessive intracellular lipid accumulation which leads to various metabolic derangements. the plin2 gene promoter has two important cis-acting elements in close proximity:ap-1 element which mediates inflammatory signals and ppre which mediates free fatty acid effect. in nmuli mouse liver cells, ffa such as oleic acid requires both functional ap-1 and ppre simultaneously to stimulate the promoter activity, indicating the presence of intimate interaction of inflammatory and metabolic signals on this gene. pycnogenolr, french maritime pine bark extracts, suppressed the oleic acid-induced plin2 expression and lipid accumulation in nmuli cells. we found that pycnogenolr did not suppress the plin2 promoter activity or ap-1 binding to dna. instead, pycnogenolr facilitates the plin2 mrna degradation, leading to suppression of lipid accumulation. this effect seems to be independent of antioxidant effect of pycnogenolr. we raise the idea that plin2 is a putative target molecule for prevention of pathological condition induced by excessive lipid accumulation, and this class of natural compounds could be putative therapeutic modalities. key words: pycnogenolr, lipid droplet, perilipin, fatty liver disease downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-09-30 issue vol. 3 no. 9 (2013): september 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effects of intravenous vitamin c administration on hs-crp and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in haemodialysis patients | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 8 (2011): august 2011 / research articles the effects of intravenous vitamin c administration on hs-crp and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in haemodialysis patients authors hamid taiebi khosroshahi biotechnology research center, tabriz university of medical sciences, tabriz yashar talebi department of nephrology, imam reza hospital, faculty of medicine, tabriz university of medical sciences, tabriz siamak ahmadzadeh department of nephrology, imam reza hospital, faculty of medicine, tabriz university of medical sciences, tabriz afshin habibzadeh c seyyed ehsan mousavi department of nephrology, imam reza hospital, faculty of medicine, tabriz university of medical sciences, tabriz mohammadreza khalilzadeh hemodialysis center, imam reza hospital, tabriz doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i8.125 abstract background: it has been proved that pre-inflammatory factors increase mortality and morbidity of cardio-vascular diseases especially in hemodialysis patients. there is a great evidence for the increase of pre-inflammatory factors and vitamin c deficiency in dialysis patients. limited data, however, are available regarding the effects of vitamin c supplementation on reduction of inflammatory markers in such patients. objectives: the aim of this study is to determine the changes of hs-crp and tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf-α) levels after administration of vitamin c in end stage renal disease patients (esrd) on hemodialysis methods and materials: in this clinical trial, vitamin c was administered intravenously (iv), (500 mg two times per week) for 2 months in 41 chronic hemodialysis patients and the hs-crp and tnf-α levels of these patients were compared with a control group with no vitamin c as treatment. besides hs-crp and tnf-α, detailed laboratory results were evaluated before and after the study. the statistical analysis was performed using spss version 16 at the end of the study. results: the hs-crp and tnf-α levels reduced significantly in hemodialysis patients after vitamin c supplementation (hs-crp decreased from 7.27±3.70 to 6.60± 3.75, p< 0.001 and tnf-α decreased from 25.61±12.28 to 22.82±22.83, p= 0.006), whereas the levels of these pro-inflammatory factors increased in hemodialysis patients without vitamin c supplementation (hs-crp increased from 7.13±3.56 to 7.73±3.83, p= 0.049 and tnf-α increased from 21.32±5.64 to 23.63±15.59, p= 0.353). vitamin c supplementation also reduced esr level and increased hb level significantly but it had no influence on lipid profile. conclusion: according to the findings of this study, it seems that vitamin c administration can reduce hs-crp and tnf-α level in hemodialysis patients and as a result prevent atherosclerosis. it can be concluded that administration of vitamin c supplementation is beneficial in hemodialysis patients. key words: hemodialysis, hs-crp, tnf-α, vitamin c downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-08-30 issue vol. 1 no. 8 (2011): august 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com 9-cis β-carotene inhibits atherosclerosis development in female ldlr-/mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 / research articles 9-cis β-carotene inhibits atherosclerosis development in female ldlr-/mice authors noa zolberg relevy the bert w. strassburger lipid center; sheba medical center, tel-hashomer, 5265601 israel; the mina and everard goodman faculty of life science, bar-ilan university, ramat-gan, israel ralph rühl department of biochemistry and molecular biology, university of debrecen, debrecen, hungary ayelet harari the bert w. strassburger lipid center; sheba medical center, tel-hashomer, 5265601 israel itamar grosskopf the bert w. strassburger lipid center; sheba medical center, tel-hashomer, 5265601 israel iris barshack institute of pathology, sheba medical center, tel-hashomer; sackler faculty of medicine, tel-aviv university, israel ami ben-amotz n.b.t israel uri nir the mina and everard goodman faculty of life science, bar-ilan university, ramat-gan, israel hugo gottlieb department of chemistry, bar-ilan university, ramat-gan 52900, israel. yehuda kamari the bert w. strassburger lipid center; sheba medical center, tel-hashomer, 5265601 israel; sackler faculty of medicine, tel-aviv university, israel; dror harats the bert w. strassburger lipid center; sheba medical center, tel-hashomer, 5265601 israel; sackler faculty of medicine, tel-aviv university, israel; aviv shaish the bert w. strassburger lipid center; sheba medical center, tel-hashomer, 5265601 israel doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i2.172 abstract background: several epidemiological studies have shown that diets rich in carotenoids are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. however, administration of synthetic all-trans b-carotene was reported to have no effect on cardiovascular disease. we previously showed that the 9-cis b-carotene-rich powder of the alga dunaliella bardawil inhibits atherogenesis and reduces plasma non-hdl cholesterol levels in mice. context and purpose of this study: we sought to study whether isolated 9-cis b-carotene inhibits atherogenesis in a murine model of atherosclerosis. results: twelve-week-old female ldl receptor knockout mice (ldlr-/-) were pretreated for  2 weeks with regular chow diet fortified with the alga dunaliella powder, 9-cis β-carotene isomer, all-trans β-carotene isomer, or 9-cis retinoic acid, followed by 10 weeks of a high-fat diet with the same fortifications. in contrast to dunaliella, 9-cis β-carotene did not inhibit the high fat diet-induced elevation of plasma cholesterol. in addition, diet fortification with dunaliella powder, β-carotene isomers, or 9-cis retinoic acid did not change the plasma retinol or retinoic acid levels. nevertheless, 9-cis β-carotene significantly inhibited atherogenesis compared to the control mice (39% reduction). conclusions: the results suggest that 9-cis β-carotene should be considered as an anti-atherogenic agent in the human diet. key words: atherosclerosis, dunaliella, 9cbc, ldlr-/mice    downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-02-15 issue vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com rose hip (rosa canina l): a functional food perspective | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 12 (2014): december 2014 / review articles rose hip (rosa canina l): a functional food perspective authors cui fan functional food center/functional food institute, dallas, tx, usa callen pacier functional food center/functional food institute, dallas, tx, usa danik m. martirosyan functional food center/functional food institute, dallas, tx, usa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i12.159 abstract background: rose hip (rosa canina l.) is the pseudo-fruit of the rose plant, which is widely known as a valuable source of polyphenols and vitamin c. both in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that this fruit exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiobesogenic activities. the health benefits of rose hip (rh) have been attributed to its wide range of bioactive compounds including the anti-inflammatory galactolipid: (2s)-1,2-di-o-[(9z,12z,15z)-octadeca-9,12,15-trienoyl]-3-oβ-d-galactopyranosyl glycerol (gopo), vitamin c, phenolics, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and other carotenoids. as cyclooxygenase inhibitors, rh compounds may reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and various inflammatory conditions. the aim of this review is to present an overview of the functional, medical, and physiological properties of rh. keywords: rosa canina, rose hip, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, gopo, lycopene, and vitamin c downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-12-24 issue vol. 4 no. 12 (2014): december 2014 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 451 of 462 research article open access bioactive proteins against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria mahmoud z. sitohy 1 *, ali o. osman 1 and samir a. mahgoub 2 1 biochemistry department, faculty of agriculture, zagazig university, zagazig 44511, egypt 2 microbiology department, faculty of agriculture, zagazig university, zagazig 44511, egypt corresponding author: mahmoud z. sitohy, phd, professor, biochemistry department, faculty of agriculture, zagazig university, zagazig 44511, egypt submission date: april 26, 2014; acceptance date: october 27, 2014; publication date: october 31, 2014 abstract background: it is likely that both human nutrition and the nutrition of livestock are benefited by the presence of bioactive proteins within their respective diet regimes. bioactive proteins have been defined as specific protein fragments that positively impact bodily functions or conditions and may, ultimately, influence overall human health. the ingestion of bioactive proteins may have an effect on the major body systems—namely, the cardiovascular, digestive, immune and nervous systems. according to their functional properties, bioactive proteins may be classified as antimicrobial, antithrombotic, antihypertensive, opioid, immune-modulatory, mineral binding and anti-oxidative. there are many examples of biologically active food proteins and active peptides that can be obtained from various food protein sources. they have a physiological significance beyond the pure nutritional requirements; in other wordsthey have the acquisition of nitrogen for normal growth and maintenance. objective: this study aims to specify and characterize the extent and mode of action of bioactive proteins in their native form, (glycinin, glycinin basic sub-unit and β-conglycinin) against specific main pathogens (listeria monocytogenes, escherichia coli o157:h7 and salmonella enterica serovar enteritidis). we will be using standard media while identifying the main constituents responsible for this action. methods: glycinin, basic sub-unit and β-conglycinin were isolated from soybean protein and tested for their antimicrobial action against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, they were thencompared to the properties of penicillin. methylated soybean protein and also methylated chickpea protein (msp and mcp), with isoelectric points around pi 8, were prepared by esterifying. 83 % of their free carboxyl groups and their interactions with gram positive and gram negative bacteria were examined. results: the three divisions of cationic proteins exhibited antibacterial activities equivalent to or higher than the activity of penicillin, with the basic sub-unit exhibiting the highest activity, functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 452 of 462 followed by glycinin.; β-conglycinin exhibited the lowest level of activity with a mic of 50, 100 and 1000 μg/ml, respectively. the ic50% values of the basic subunit, glycinin and β-conglycinin, against listeria monocytogenes, were 15, 16 and 695 μg/ml; against bacillus subtilis the values were 17, 20, and 612 μg/ml; and against salmonella enteritidis the values were 18, 21 and 526 μg/ml, respectively. transmission electron microscopy images of l. monocytogenes and s. enteritidis exhibited an increase in cell size and a separation of the cell wall from the cell membrane when treated with glycinin or basic sub-unit. the scanning electron microscopy of b. subtilis indicated signs of an irregular, wrinkled outer surface as well as the fragmentation, adhesion, and aggregation of damaged cells or cellular debris when treated with glycinin or the basic subunits; however not with penicillin. the proliferation of l. monocytogenes, s. enteritidis and escherichia coli o157:h7-when artificially inoculated in raw milk ,stored at 4 or 25 °c) was significantly (p<0·05) reduced by the glycinin sub-unit and nisin (0·5% w/v); but they were only slightly reduced by β-conglycinin and moderately reduced by lysozyme. the two substances (msp and mcp) exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibitory action against two of the studied bacteria with a minimum inhibitory concentration of approximately 100 µg/ml. the supplementation of raw milk with esterified legume proteins (msp and mcp) has significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the levels of tbc, pbc and psc in raw milk stored at a temperature of 4 °c. this potentially will delaythe onset of spoilage of by four days. conclusion: both glycinin and the basic sub-unit have a more swift antimicrobial action than that of penicillin. basic sub-units exhibited the highest efficiency at killing bacterial cells, followed by glycinin, penicillin and β-conglycinin-with the lowest effect; while the bacteria most susceptible to the antimicrobial agents were shown to be l. monocytogenes, followed by b. subtilis and s. enteritidiswith the lowest susceptibility. the antibacterial action of glycinin was similar to the effects exerted by nisin, and was much more effective than lysozyme. the modified legume proteins have general antibacterial properties against both spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in raw milk preserved under refrigeration or at room temperature. keywords: bioactive proteins, pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, 1. introduction globulins represent the majority of seed soybean proteins and can be subdivided into two main types according to their sedimentation coefficients: glycinin (11s) and β-conglycinin (7s). glycinin has a molecular mass of 360 kd and is composed of six constituent subunits, each of which consists of an acidic and a basic polypeptide. these polypeptides are linked together by a disulfide bond [1], [2].( the relative molecular masses of basic and acidic sub-units are 20 and 34 kd, respectively [3]. β-conglycinin is a trimeric glycosylated protein with a molecular mass of 150–200 kd [4; 5]. the esterification reaction is an important tool for modifying food proteins. esterification with different alcohols leads to the blocking of free carboxyl groups raising the net positive charge; this makes the modified proteins more basic[6-8] the glycinin and its basic subunit are both hydrophobic and cationic and may be able to react with the functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 453 of 462 bacterial cell wall and membrane in spite of its attachment to the acidic sub-units. previous reports indicated that basic proteins or peptides can have antimicrobial activity [9]. consequently, the isolation and purification of soy bean proteins, e.g. glycinin (11s), basic subunit and β-conglycinin, (7s) or chickpea proteins (e.g. 11s legumin and the 7s vicilin) was of major interest. alternatively, the esterification of legume proteins may impart them with cationic character associated with antibacterial activity against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. [10-17] (;. hence, the objective of the current work was to specify and characterize the extent and mode of action of these antimicrobial cationic proteins (native and esterified) against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. 2. methods 2.1. legume proteins: isolation and characterization soybean and chickpea seeds were ground to pass through a 1 mm2 sieve and the resulting powder was defatted using a mixed solvent of chloroform: methanol (3:1 v/v) for 8 h. soybean protein isolate and chickpea protein isolate were separated using the procedure of johnson and brekke [18]. soybean protein isolate was used for the isolation of glycinin and β-conglycinin, according to nagano et al. [19]. basic sub-units were separated from the glycinin according to methods described by damodaran and kinsella [20]; some modifications were used. glycinin was dissolved in a 30 mm tris buffer (ph 8.0) containing 15 mm β-mercaptoethanol (at 0.5% w/v). the protein solution was heated to 90 °c for 30 min and then centrifuged at 10000 x g at 4 °c for 20 min. the precipitate (basic subunit) was washed twice with 30 mm tris buffer (ph 8.0), suspended in distilled water, and freeze-dried. protein samples were analyzed by sdspage according to laemmli [21]. 2.2. chemical modification of proteins protein was esterified with methanol according to the procedure of sitohy et al. [22], and the esterification extent was quantified by the color reaction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride [23]. the resultant modified proteins were denoted as msp (methylated soybean protein) and mcp (methylated chickpea protein) esterified proteins were analyzed by different methods such as sds-page, native page according to laemmli [21], and urea-page according to williams and evans [24]. 2.3. antibacterial action evaluation 2.3.1. in vitro different methods were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria (listeria monocytogenes and salmonella enterica subsp enterica serovar enteritidis) and spoilage bacteria (bacillus subtilis). it was done in vitro as following: minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) was evaluated using standard inoculums of 1×10 5 cfu/ ml [25; 26], scanning electron microscopy (sem) analysis was performed [27] the sem was performed to further explore the mode of action of the studied proteins on b. subtilis cell morphology and transmission electron microscopy (tem) functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 454 of 462 2.3.2. in situ the activity of native and esterified legume proteins in controlling the growth of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria contaminating raw milk kept at 4 °c or 24-h room temperature storage (25 °c) as well as milk quality was assessed [10-12; 15; 17]. figure 1: esterification of legume protein by methanol 3. results 3.1. antibacterial activity of native protein fractions a soybean protein isolate was fractionated into β-conglycinin, glycinin and its basic unit (figure 2). all fractions were tested for their antimicrobial action against pathogenic (listeria monocytogenes and salmonella enterica subsp enterica serovar enteritidis) and spoilage bacteria (bacillus subtilis), as compared to penicillin. the three fractions exhibited antibacterial activities equivalent to or higher than penicillin with the basic subunit exhibiting the greatest amount of activity.the subunit wasfollowed by glycinin and thenβ-conglycinin with a mic of 50, 100 and 1000 µg/ml respectively. the ic50% values of the basic subunit, glycinin and β -conglycinin against l. monocytogenes were 15, 16 and 695 µg/ ml; against b. subtilis the values were 17, 20, and 612 µg/ml; and against s. enteritidis the values were 18, 21 and 526 µg/ml, respectively. the antibacterial action starts at an early stage of bacterial life cycle, i.e. maximum effect after 6 h of incubation at 37 ◦ c. glycinin and basic subunits were significantly more effective against s. enteritidis than penicillin. tem images of l. monocytogenes and s. enteritidis exhibited an increase in cell size and a separation of the cell wall from the cell membrane when treated with glycinin or a basic subunit. cells treated with β-conglycinin were least affected while cells treated with penicillin showed fewer signs of deformation. sem examination of b. subtilis (figure 5) indicated signs of an functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 455 of 462 irregular, wrinkled outer surface.the sem examination of b. subtilis also exhibited fragmentation, adhesion and aggregation of damaged cells or cellular debris. this occurred when treated with glycinin or the basic subunits; however it did not occur with penicillin. kd st spi glycini n bs as figure 2. sds-page electrophoretic patterns of soybean protein isolate (spi), and its fractions; glycinin, basic and acidic subunits (bs and as). all tested substances showed increased concentration-dependent cell permeation, assessed by crystal violet uptakethe basic subunit was the most active, followed by glycinin, and then penicillin. the kinetics of cell permeation were linked to the kinetics of cell lysis and the action on bacterial proteins. the antimicrobial action of glycinin and basic subunit was quicker than that of penicillin. the basic subunit exhibited the greatest efficiency at killing the bacterial cell, followed by glycinin, penicillin andβ–conglycinin (β–conglycinin with the lowest efficiency). the bacteria that was most susceptible to the antimicrobial agents was shown to be l. monocytogenes, followed by b. subtilis and finally s. enteritidis, the lowest susceptible one-. adding glycinin and the basic subunit to pasteurized milk inoculated with the three bacteriae, l. monocytogenes, b. subtilis and s. enteritidis (ca. 5 log cfu/ml), could inhibit their propagation after 16-20 days of storage at 4 ◦ c by 2.42-2.98, 4.25-4.77 and 2.57-3.01 log and by 3.22-3.78, 5.65-6.27 and 3.35-3.72 log cfu/ml, respectively [13]. considerable inhibitory antibacterial action, comparable to the properties of nisin, was exerted by the soybean glycinin on the proliferation of total viable count, pseudomonas count and enterobacteriaceae count. this was done in bovine milk stored at 4 or 25 °c for 30 d and 48 h.; however 7s and lysozyme were much less effective. the maximum magnitudes of bacterial reduction by glycinin and nisin were in the range 2– 4 log cfu/ml. the proliferation of 3 pathogenic bacteria (listeria monocytogenes, salmonella enteritidis and escherichia coli o157:h7) artificially inoculated into raw milk stored at 4 or 25 °c was significantly (p<0·05) reduced by glycinin, subunit, and nisin (0·5% w/v). however, it was only slightly reduced by β– conglycinin and moderately by lysozyme. lactose consumption, acidity development and casein functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 456 of 462 degradation during storage of bovine raw milk were attenuated during storage at 4 or 25 °c and sensorial traits were better maintained by supplementation with glycinin (0·5% w/v). as a result, glycinin may be recommended for use as a safe food preservative, if officially authorized [16]. figure 3. scanning electron microscopy (sem) of b. subtilis treated with 100 µg/ml of glycinin, β-conglycinin, the basic subunit, and penicillin for 4 hrs. at room temperature functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 457 of 462 3.2. antibacterial activity of chemically modified legume proteins 3.2.1. protein modification although some protein subunit fractions are biologically active against bacteria, the whole mixture of legume proteins (e.g. soy protein isolate) is nearly free of significant antibacterial activity [13]. this is due to the fact that some active fractions are neutralized by other fractions. for example, the basic subunits are normally neutralized by the acidic subunits. moreover, the antibacterial activities of the isolated subunits are sometime moderate. alternatively, the fractionation of protein isolates into active subunits is costly and time consuming. inactive legume protein isolates (soy protein isolate and chickpea protein isolate) were transformed into biologically active forms by esterification and tested against different bacteria as it will follow. esterification is supposed to endow these modified proteins with positive charges and basic characters. esterification can neutralize the negatively charged carboxyl groups of the aspartyl and glutamyl residues on protein molecules, transforming their net charge into positive. the obtained positively charged proteins were proved antimicrobially active [28] as it will be detailed. the methylated soybean protein and methylated chickpea protein (msp and mcp) with isoelectric points around pi 8 were prepared by esterifying 83 % of their free carboxyl groups (figure 4). figure 4. native and urea-page of soybean and chickpea proteins before (1&3) and after (2&4) methylation as well as urea-page of the fractionated methylated. 3.2.2. in vitro the interactions of msp and mcp with listeria monocytogenes and salmonella enteritidis were closely examined. the two substances exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibitory action against the two studied bacteria with a minimum inhibitory concentration of approximately 100 µg/ml. the ic50 % of the two proteins was comparable to penicillin against l. monocytogenes (17 µg/ml), but was also comparatively much lower (15 µlg/ml) than that of penicillin (85 µg/ml) against s. enteritidis. the two proteins could inhibit the growth of l. monocytogenes and s. enteritidis by about 97 and 91 %, respectively, after 6–12 h of incubation at 37 °c. the constituting subunits of msp (methylated glycinin and methylated -conglycinin) were both functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 458 of 462 responsible for its antimicrobial action. transmission electron microscopy of the protein-treated bacteria showed various signs of cellular deformation (figure 5). cationic proteins can interact with the cell wall and the cell membrane by virtue of their positive electrostatic charges and hydrophobic character. this produces large pores and pore channels thatlead to the disintegration of the cell wall and cell membrane and enhance cell permeability. this will in turn lead to cell emptiness, lysis and death [14]. figure 5. transmission electron microscopy (tem) of l. monocytogenes scott a and s. enteritidis pt4 as affected by 100 µg/ml of cationic soybean or chickpea protein (msp and mcp), as compared to penicillin. esterification of legume proteins turns them positively charged and hence exhibits outstanding anti-listeria and anti-salmonella actions. this action turns the net charge of conglycinin from negative into positive while it intensifies the positive charge on glycinin. this modification eliminates the electrostatic interactions between these two subunits, allowing the whole protein to exert antibacterial action. the current biotechnological technique can provide antimicrobially active cationic proteins. these prepared mixtures of cationic proteins can be invested in the antimicrobial applications without the need to use costly and time-consuming procedures for isolating the active protein component (glycinin). the antimicrobial action of the functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 459 of 462 cationic proteins may be initiated by an electrostatic interaction between their positively charged regions and the negatively charged regions of the cell wall or the cell membrane accompanied by a hydrophobic interaction between like regions of the two reactants. 3.2.3. in situ supplementation of raw milk with esterified legume proteins (methylated soybean protein and methylated chickpea protein) has significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the levels of tbc, pbc and psc in raw milk preserved at 4 °c, i.e. it could potentially delay the start of spoilage from the second day to the sixth day. this antimicrobial action against psychrotrophic bacteria primarily originates from the chemical esterification altering the protein net charge to positive an. thus, being capable of interacting with the negatively charged components of the bacterial cell wall and membrane, it leads to their disintegration and finally bacterial inhibition. supplementing raw milk with methylated legume proteins could significantly (p < 0.05) limit the changes in the ph and the titratable acidity in raw milk stored under cold conditions. this could also protect casein from degradation for a longer period (10 days) of preservation at 4 °c, as compared to 2 days in the case of the control. collectively, it can be concluded that esterified proteins can generally inhibit the bacterial growth and its associated activities: acid production and proteolysis [12]. protein isolates from the soybean and chickpea, as well as their methylated esters, were tested for their inhibitory action against the propagation of pathogenic bacteria in raw milk during its storage at room temperature or under refrigeration. raw milk was inoculated with a mixed culture of listeria monocytogenes scott a and salmonella enterica serovar enteritidis strain pt4 at ca. 2 log cfu ml -1 . aerobic plate count, coliform count, and presumptive e. coli in raw milk treated with esterified legume proteins were inhibited by 2 to 3 log relative to a control after 6 to 8 days of storage at 4°c. at room temperature, bacterial populations (aerobic plate count, coliform count, and presumptive e. coli) in raw milk, treated with esterified legume proteins, were inhibited by ca. 1.5 to 1.6 log relative to the control after 12 h. supplementation of raw milk with esterified soybean protein could significantly inhibit the counts of the two inoculated pathogens (l. monocytogenes scott a and salmonella enteritidis pt4), initially inoculated at ca. 2 log cfu ml -1 , by ca. 2.4 log and 1.6 log cfu ml -1 , respectively, on day eight of storage under cold conditions. corresponding reductions amounting to 2.7 and 1.8 log cfu ml -1 were observed after 12 h of storage at room temperature. supplementation of raw milk with esterified soybean protein (0.5%) reduced the maximum level of titratable acidity to 0.21 and maintained the ph level at 6.4, after 8 days of storage under cold conditions as compared with 4 days for untreated raw milk. similar results were observed when raw milk was stored at room temperature for 10 h [10] (. methylated soy protein (msp) was evaluated as an antimicrobial agent that can counteract the potential post-pasteurization contamination of milk during a 30-day cold storage (4 °c) or 24-h room temperature storage (25 °c)as compared to its native form (sp) [10] sp and msp were added to buffalo milk at 0.5% (w/v) after pasteurization and before storage. microbiological and chemical analyses of the milk were carried out directly to follow the spontaneous microbial contamination or after artificial contamination with three pathogens (escherichia coli o157:h7, listeria monocytogenes scott a, and salmonella enterica subsp. functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 460 of 462 enterica serovar enteritidis pt4). supplementation of milk samples with msp (0.5%) significantly (p<0.05) and considerably inhibited the levels of the spontaneously proliferating bacterial counts, i.e., total viable and enterobacteriaceae counts were inhibited by about 2.5 log cfu ml −1 .however; psychrotrophic and pseudomonads counts were inhibited by 1.8 and 1.6 log cfu ml −1 , respectively, after 16 days of preservation at 4 °c. similar trends of effects were also produced after 12–18 h of milk storage at 25 °c. msp (0.5%) nearly hindered the proliferation of the three inoculated pathogens in pasteurized milk during 16 day of storage at 4 °c or 12–18-h storage at 25 °c. based on milk acidity, sds–page pattern, and microbiological analysis, it is concluded that supplementation with msp (0.5%) can prolong the shelf life of pasteurized milk from 6 to 16 days when stored under cold conditions and from 8 to 18 h under room temperature conditions. methylated soy protein (msp) is a potent antimicrobial agent that can counteract the potential post-pasteurization contamination of milk during cold (4 °c) or room temperature (25 °c) storage. supplementation of milk samples with msp (0.5% w/v) significantly (p<0.05) and considerably inhibited the levels of the spontaneously proliferating spoilage bacterial counts, i.e., tvc, pbc, psc, and enc counts, after 16 days of preservation at 4 °c or after 12–18 h of storage at 25 °c. in parallel, supplementation of pasteurized milk with msp nearly hindered the proliferation of three inoculated pathogens during 16 days of storage at 4 °c or during 12–18 h of storage at 25 °c. it is concluded that supplementation with msp (0.5%) can prolong the shelf life of pasteurized milk from 6 to 16 days when stored under cold conditions and from 8 to 18 h when stored at room temperature based on milk total bacterial count, acidity, and ph measurementsas well as the intact status of milk proteins visualized by sds electrophoresis [14]. methylated chickpea protein or a native chickpea protein was supplemented to milk (0.5 %) and combined with a mild thermization treatment (65 ºc/ 5 min) before storing at 4 ºc for 30 days. the influence of these combined treatments was assessed on milk physicochemical, nutritional and sensorial quality during storage. supplementation of milk samples with mcp (0.5% w/v) significantly (p < 0.05) and considerably reduced the levels of the bacterial counts; i.e. total bacterial, psychrotrophic and pseudomonas spp. counts by about 1.6-1.9 log cfu ml -1 ,after 16 days of storage at 4 ºc. within the same period, it could control the development of titratable acidity, limit lypolysis & proteolysis, maintain most of the vitamin contents, and keep considerable heat stability, oxidative stability, rennetablity and sensorial properties [17]. conclusions both glycinin and the basic subunit have a more swift antimicrobial action than that of penicillin. the basic subunit exhibited the highest efficiency at killing bacterial cells followed by glycinin, penicillin, and β-conglycinin with the lowest while the bacteria that was most susceptible to the antimicrobial agents was shown to be l. monocytogenes, followed by b. subtilis and s. enteritidis, with the lowest susceptibility. the antibacterial action of glycinin against these three groups of contaminating bacteria was similar to the effects exerted by nisin and was much more effective than lysozyme (data not shown). chemical esterification can turn the originally inactive forms of legume proteins into biologically active forms against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. furthermore, esterification can enhance the antibacterial activity of the originally active subfunctional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 461 of 462 units (e.g. glycinin). both active legume subunits (glycinin and its basic subunits) as well as the esterified legume proteins have general antibacterial properties against both spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in raw milk, preserved under refrigeration or at room temperature, and thus can be used as safe food grade preservatives. references 1. kitamura, k., shibasaki, k., (1975). isolation and some physicochemical properties of the acidic subunits of soybean 11s globulin. agricultural biological chemistry 39, 945-951. 2. nielsen et al. (1989). characterization of the glycinin gene family in soybean. plant cell. 1, 313-328. 3. kitamura, k., takagi, t., shibasaki, k. (1976). subunit structure of soybean 11 s globulin. agric. biol.chem. 40: 1837. 4. ladin, b., f., tierney, m., l., meinke, d., w., hosa´ ngadi, p., veith, m., beachy, r., n., (1987). developmental regulation of β-conglycinin in soybean axes and cotyledons. plant physiology 84, 35–41. 5. utsumi, s., matsumura, y., mori, t., (1997). structure-function relationships of soy protein. in: s. damodaran and a. paraf, editors, food proteins and their applications, marcel dekker, new york, 257–291. 6. mattarella, n. l. and richardson, t. (1983a). physicochemical and functional properties of positively charged derivatives of bovine β-lactoglobulin. journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 31: 972-978. 7. mattarella, n. l.; creamer, k. l. and richardson, t. (1983b). amidation or esterification of bovine β-lactoglobulin to form positively charged proteins. journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 31: 968-972. 8. halpin, m.i. and richardson, t. (1985). elected functionality changes of beta-lacto globulin upon esterification of side chain carboxyl groups. journal of dairy science, 68, 3189-3198. 9. dhatwalia, v., k., sati, o., p., tripathi, m., k., kumar, a., (2009). isolation, characterization and antimicrobial activity at diverse dilution of wheat puroindoline protein. world journal of agricultural science 5, 297-300. 10. mahgoub, s.; osman, a. and sitohy, m. (2011). inhibition of growth of pathogenic bacteria in raw milk by legume protein esters. journal of food protection. 74 (9) 1475–1481. 11. mahgoub, s.; sitohy, m. and osman, a. (2013). counteracting recontamination of pasteurized milk by methylated soybean protein. food bioprocess technol. 6:101–109. 12. sitohy, m.; mahgoub, s. and osman, a. (2011). controlling psychrotrophic bacteria in raw buffalo milk preserved at 4 °c with esterified legume proteins. lwt food science and technology 44: 1697-1702. 13. sitohy, m., mahgoub, s. and osman, a. (2012). in vitro and in situ antimicrobial action and mechanism of glycinin and its basic subunit. international journal of food microbiology, 154, 19-29. functional foods in health and disease 2014; 4(10):451-462 page 462 of 462 14. sitohy, m.; mahgoub, s.; osman, a.; el-masry, r. and al-gaby, a. (2013). extent and mode of action of cationic legume proteins against listeria monocytogenes and salmonella enteritidis. probiotics & antimicro. prot. 5:195–205. 15. osman, a., mahgoub, s., el-massry, r., el-gaby, a. and sitohy, m. (2012). extending the technological validity of raw buffalo milk at room temperature by esterified legume proteins. journal of food processing and preservation. doi:10.1111/j.17454549.2012.00768.x. 16. osman, a.; mahgoub, s.; sitohy, m. (2013). preservative action of 11s (glycinin) and 7s (β-conglycinin) soy globulin on bovine raw milk stored either at 4 or 25 °c. journal of dairy research. 1-10. 17. osman, a.; mahgoub, s. and sitohy, m. (2014). hindering milk quality storage deterioration by mild thermization combined with methylated chickpea protein. international food research journal 21(2): 693-701. 18. johnson, e. a. and brekke, j. (1983). functional properties of acylated pea protein isolates. journal of food science. 48: 722-725. 19. nagano, t., hirotsuka, m., mori, h., kohyama, k., nishinari, k., 1992. dynamic viscoelastic study on the gelation of 7s globulin from soybeans. journal of agricultural and food chemistry 40, 941–944. 20. damodaran, s., kinsella, j.e., (1982). effect of conglycinin on the thermal aggregation of glycinin. journal of agricultural and food chemistry 30, 812–817. 21. laemmli uk (1970) cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of head of bacteriophage t4. nature 227:680–685. 22. sitohy, m.z.; chobert, j.m. and haertle, t. (2000). factors influencing protein esterification reaction using β-lacto globulin as a model protein. journal of food biochemistry. 24: 381-398. 23. bertrand-harb c, chobert j-m, dufour e, haertle t (1991) esterification of food proteins: characterization of the derivatives by a colorimetric method and by electrophoresis. sci alimen 11:641–652. 24. williams, j., evans, r. w. (1980). the electrophoresis of transferrins in urea/polyacrylamide gels. biochem. j. 189, 541–546. 25. rex et al. (2001). antifungal susceptibility testing: practical aspects and current challenges. clinical microbiology reviews 14 (4), 643–658. 26. murray, p.r., baron, e.j., pfallar, m.a., tenover, f.c., yolke, r.h. (1995). . 6th edn. manual of clinical microbiology, vol-6. asm, wash-ington dc, pp. 214–215. 27. benli, m., yigit, n., geven, f., guney, k., bingol, u. (2008).. antimicrobial activity of endemic crataegus tanacetifolia (lam.) pers and observation of the inhibition effect on bacterial cells. cell biochemistry and function 26, 844–851. 28. sitohy m, osman a (2010) antimicrobial activity of native and esterified legume proteins against gram-negative and grampositive bacteria. food chem 120:66–73. biochemical evaluation of the effects of nigerian polyherbal preparation on wistar rabbits | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 / research articles biochemical evaluation of the effects of nigerian polyherbal preparation on wistar rabbits authors ken c. anugweje dept. of health services, university of port harcourt, port harcourt okey a. ojiako department of biochemistry, federal univ. of technology, owerri chidi u. igwe department of biochemistry, federal univ. of technology, owerri winnifred a. nwachukwu department of biochemistry, federal univ. of technology, owerri chiza a. ogbuji department of science lab. technology, abia state polytechnic, aba doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i6.89 abstract background: diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder with multiple etiologies. its sufferers are generally at high risk of dyslipidemia characterized by hypercholesterolemia, hyper-triglyceridemia, hyperlipoproteinemia and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. globally, the estimated cost of diabetes care was $376 billion in 2010, representing 12% of health expenditures for that year.  methods: the effects of the aqueous extracts of a little known nigerian traditional polyherbal formula consisting of emilia coccinea, acanthus montanus, hibiscus rosasinensis and asystasia gangetica on serum glucose concentration, amylase activity and lipid profiles of normal, diabetic, and liver-damaged rabbits were studied using standard procedures. the mixture of the aqueous extracts of the four plants was orally administered in two doses – 120mg/kg body weight and 240mg/kg body weight for 28 days. results: the drug elicited doseand duration-of-administration-dependent, significant (p<0.05) reductions in serum levels of glucose, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and ldl-cholesterol; and significant (p<0.05) increases in the hdl-cholesterol concentrations with no changes in amylase activity. conclusion: these results confirm the hypoglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and hepatoprotective potentials of the crude drug and thus justify its application in ethnomedicine in the management of diabetes. key words: emilia coccinea, acanthus montanus, hibiscus rosasinensis, asystasia gangetica, antidiabetic, hepatoprotection. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-06-10 issue vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com metabolic syndrome and the components of the mediterranean diet | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 / review articles metabolic syndrome and the components of the mediterranean diet authors maria luz fernandez department of nutritional sciences, the university of connecticut 3624 horsebarn road extension, storrs, ct 06269 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i2.142 abstract metabolic syndrome (mets) is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities known to increase heart disease risk by two-fold and type 2 diabetes risk by five-fold. these disturbances include dyslipidemias, hypertension, hyperglycemia and central adiposity in addition to insulin resistance and low grade inflammation. the prevalence of mets is about 34% in the united states with variations according to ethnicity and race. lfestyle factors including smoking, lack of exercise, poor dietary habits as well as low socioeconomic status are associated with the development of mets. diet is considered one of the major contributors to mets. adherence to the mediterranean diet (high intake of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, olive oil, fish, low-fat dairy products, and moderate wine consumption) has been associated with lower prevalence of mets. interventions utilizing this dietary approach have proven to be successful in reducing some of the associated metabolic abnormalities. in this review, evidence from epidemiological and clinical studies showing the benefits of the mediterranean diet is presented. the effect of the specific components of the mediterranean diet is also discussed. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-02-14 issue vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of dietary fiber in lowering serum glucose and body weight in sprague dawley rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 8 (2011): august 2011 / research articles effect of dietary fiber in lowering serum glucose and body weight in sprague dawley rats authors masood sadiq butt national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture faisalabad naureen shahzadi national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture faisalabad hafiz suleria national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture faisalabad tauseef sultan national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture faisalabad muhammad imran chohan national institute of food science and technology, university of agriculture faisalabad doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i8.124 abstract introduction: the present study evaluated the hypoglycemic perspectives and weight loss significance of dietary fiber. dietary fiber was supplemented in commercial wheat flour (atta) for the preparation of chapaties, a staple diet of south asia. male sprague dawley rats (n = 100) were randomly divided into 4 diet groups (n = 25 per group). the control group was fed basal diet that included commercial wheat flour chapati, cornstarch, corn oil, salt and vitamin mixture in such a way that 10% of the protein was available from the final diet. to the basal diet of other 3 groups, chapaties supplemented with 2% guar gum (gg 2%), 3% guar gum (gg 3%) and 5% chickpea + 1% guar gum (cp5%+gg1%) were added, respectively. all diets were fed to the rats for a period of 8 weeks to perceive the impact of respective compositions. rats fed on cp 5% + gg 1%, showed maximum glucose reduction (14.57%) followed by gg 3% (11.64%) and gg 2% (9.60%) as compared to control diet. likewise, rats fed on 3% gg showed maximum decline (7.90%) in body weight. it was concluded that chapaties prepared from selected treatments provide an additional dietary fiber that could be supportive for diabetic and obese individuals. results: the results indicated that addition of dietary fiber influenced the physical characteristics of chapati non-significantly. maximum glucose concentration was found to be 112.50 mg/dl in control group followed by 101.70 and 99.41 mg/dl in groups fed on guar gum 2% and guar gum 3%, respectively. lowest glucose concentration (96.11 mg/dl) was observed in rats fed on the combination of chickpea 5 %+ guar gum 1%. maximum serum protein concentration was found to be 6.39 g/dl in rats fed on combination of chickpea 5 % + guar gum 1% whilst the remaining three groups showed non significant variations with respect to each other. means for serum protein were 6.33, 6.30 and 6.32 g/dl for control, guar gum 3%, and guar gum 2%, respectively. maximum serum albumin concentration was found to be 3.63 g/dl in rats fed on combination of chickpea 5%+ guar gum 1% showing non-significant differences than that of control (3.60 g/dl). conclusion: soaring cost of medication and their side effects demand new ways against the existing malady of diabetes. diet based strategy is a right approach as it is economical and assessable to avoid the health risks. the present research explored that diet diversification is an effective tool for the management of serum glucose and body weight. role of legumes is indispensable to enhance the dietary fiber. ingestion of chapaties prepared from selected compositions of composite flours providing an additional dietary fiber would be supportive to reduce hyperglycemia and obesity. keywords: sprague dawley rats, dietary fiber, composite flour, chapati, serum glucose, insulin glucose indices. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-08-31 issue vol. 1 no. 8 (2011): august 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of a dietary supplement containing kurozu (a japanese traditional health drink) concentrate on several obesity-related parameters in obese japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 8 (2013): august 2013 / research articles effect of a dietary supplement containing kurozu (a japanese traditional health drink) concentrate on several obesity-related parameters in obese japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial authors naobumi hamadate department of research and development, egao co. ltd., 1-47 higashihonmachi, higashi-ku, kumamoto, kumamoto 862-0902 ken-ichiro nakamura department of research and development, egao co. ltd., 1-47 higashihonmachi, higashi-ku, kumamoto, kumamoto 862-0902 motoko hirai department of research and development, egao co. ltd., 1-47 higashihonmachi, higashi-ku, kumamoto, kumamoto 862-0902 tetsuro yamamoto research center, ttc co. ltd., 1-20-2 ebisunishi, shibuya-ku, tokyo 113-0021 hideyo yamaguchi research center, ttc co. ltd., 1-20-2 ebisunishi, shibuya-ku, tokyo 113-0021 muneaki iizuka research center, ttc co. ltd., 1-20-2 ebisunishi, shibuya-ku, tokyo 113-0021 etsushi yamamoto research center, ttc co. ltd., 1-20-2 ebisunishi, shibuya-ku, tokyo 113-0021 yoshitaka iwama nihonbashi cardiology clinic, 13-4 nihonbashi-kodenmacho, chuo-ku, tokyo 103-0001 kazunaga yazawa laboratory of nutraceuticals and functional foods science, tokyo university of marine science and technology, 4-5-7 konan, minato-ku, tokyo 108-8477 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i8.45 abstract objective: this study was undertaken to examine the kurozu concentrate (kc) based dietary supplement on several obesity-related parameters in obese japanese male and female adults. background: kurozu, which is a specific type of rice vinegar produced by fermentation of unpolished brown rice, has long been used as a traditional health food and folk medicine in japan. a recent animal study and our preliminary human study suggest that the kc supplement has potential for use in the management of obesity. materials and methods: a 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted involving 48 japanese adult subjects (28 males and 20 females) with obesity. subjects were either assigned to the group consuming the kc supplement for 12 weeks (870mg/day; 480 mg/day as kc) (n=24; 14 males and 10 females) or the placebo group (n=24; 14 males and 10 females). all test participants were assessed using several obesity-related parameters, including body weight, bmi, waist circumference, and abdominal fat computed tomography (ct) sections. these measurements took place at baseline and at week 12. results: at week 12, a significant decrease in body weight (p<0.043) and nearly significant decreased values of bmi (p=0.052) were observed in the kc group compared to the placebo group. the reduction in waist circumference at week 12 within the kc group was not significantly greater than the placebo group. examination of abdominal ct sections around the navel indicated that, although most of the values of the total fat area, subcutaneous fat area, and visceral fat area for both of the placebo and kc groups significantly increased during the 12-week intervention, the magnitude of increase in the total fat area for all subjects and that of the total fat area, subcutaneous fat area, and visceral fat area for females on one or more of three ct sections were significantly lower in the kc group than the placebo group (p<0.05). conclusion: although the results are not definitive, kc supplementation may have potential for improving some obesity-related parameters in obese subjects, particularly females. key words: kurozu concentrate (kc), kc-based dietary supplement (kc supplement), abdominal obesity-related parameters, body mass index (bmi), computed tomography (ct), abdominal fat downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-08-09 issue vol. 3 no. 8 (2013): august 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com impact of bioflavonoids from berryfruits on biomarkers of metabolic syndrome | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 / review articles impact of bioflavonoids from berryfruits on biomarkers of metabolic syndrome authors mary ann lila plants for human health institute, north carolina state university 600 laureate way, kannapolis, nc 28081 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i2.143 abstract the phytochemical constituents which comprise many edible berry fruits have increasingly been linked to modulation of biomarkers associated with conditions of diabetes, overweight/obesity, and cardiovascular disease (cvd), all components of metabolic syndrome. while many wild berries have long been valued in traditional medicine as health protective, it is only recently that the ability of berry bioactives to affect particular clinical targets has been demonstrated. in addition to the widely recognized antioxidant power of berry extracts, both commercial berry varieties and wild species have been linked to hypoglycemic activity, inhibition of adipogenesis, amelioration of cvd risk factors, anti-inflammatory capacity, and ability to induce satiety/counteract overweight. in some cases, proanthocyanidin constituents or anthocyanin pigments have been shown to be the active agents, but in many other cases, interactions between co-occuring phytochemical constituents potentiate bioactivity of berry extracts. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-02-14 issue vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com cancer-specific therapeutic potential of resveratrol: metabolic approach against hallmarks of cancer | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 8 (2013): august 2013 / review articles cancer-specific therapeutic potential of resveratrol: metabolic approach against hallmarks of cancer authors dong hoon suh department of obstetrics and gynecology, seoul national university bundang hospital, seongnam mi-kyung kim department of obstetrics and gynecology, seoul national university college of medicine, seoul hee seung kim department of obstetrics and gynecology, seoul national university college of medicine, seoul hyun hoon chung department of obstetrics and gynecology, seoul national university college of medicine, seoul yong sang song department of obstetrics and gynecology, seoul national university college of medicine, seoul doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i8.44 abstract cancer hallmarks include evading apoptosis, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis, tissue invasion and metastasis. cancer cells undergo metabolic reprogramming and inevitably take advantage of glycolysis to meet the increased metabolic demand: rapid energy generation and macromolecular synthesis. resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin, is known to exhibit pleiotropic anti-cancer effects most of which are linked to metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells. this review summarizes various anti-cancer effects of resveratrol in the context of cancer hallmarks in relation to metabolic reprogramming. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-08-26 issue vol. 3 no. 8 (2013): august 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com probiotics as regulators of inflammation: a review | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 / research articles probiotics as regulators of inflammation: a review authors david w. lescheid freelance medical writer/naturopathic doctor, medicoscientific manager, baden-baden, baden, würtemburg doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i7.2 abstract a substantial and increasing body of clinical evidence supports the role of specific strains and mixtures of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. several general mechanisms of action have been proposed, including supporting repair of hyperpermeable epithelial barriers, interfering with infection by pathogens, and restoring a healthful balance of commensal microbes to affect metabolism. emerging evidence supports an additional role of probiotics as important modulators of immune system responses, including inflammation, at mucosal surfaces. in particular, by preventing or repairing ‘leaky’ epithelial barriers, probiotics can indirectly affect the inflammatory response by negating the source of pro-inflammatory stimuli associated with low-grade endotoxemia. they also enhance production of short chain fatty acids with anti-inflammatory properties (e.g. butyrate) as well as increase synthesis of antimicrobial peptides that influence inflammation resolution pathways in the mucosa. furthermore, probiotics and some of their secreted metabolic products can act as ligands for innate immune system receptors, directly influencing key pro-inflammatory pathways. they also stimulate the differentiation and activity of important immune cells (e.g., dendritic cells, t cells), and subsequently increase production of important regulatory cytokines, including interleukin-10 (il-10) and transforming growth factor-beta (tgf-b). finally, there are limited but increasing animal studies and clinical trials demonstrating probiotics do affect common biomarkers of inflammation, including c-reactive protein, as well as signs and symptoms of the associated diseases suggesting they can have therapeutic benefit in the treatment of chronic inflammatory disease. keywords: probiotics, inflammation, endotoxemia, epithelial, cytokines, immune, butyrate, antimicrobial peptides downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-24 issue vol. 4 no. 7 (2014): july 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com maternal diet, lcpufa status and prematurity in indian mothers: a cross-sectional study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 / research articles maternal diet, lcpufa status and prematurity in indian mothers: a cross-sectional study authors prachi s. ranade biometry and nutrition unit, animal science division, agharkar research institute, g.g. agarkar road, pune-411004 shobha s. rao biometry and nutrition unit, animal science division, agharkar research institute, g.g. agarkar road, pune-411004 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i11.73 abstract background: recently, certain long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (lcpufa) have been shown to exert functional benefits with regards to gestational length. the present study examined the association of maternal lcpufa intake, specifically docosahexaenoic acid (dha) and arachidonic acid (ara), and plasma status at delivery with duration of gestation and risk of premature delivery in indian mothers. methods: in a cross-sectional nested case-control study, 191 mother-baby pairs [164 full term (ft) and 27 preterm (pt)] were examined for differences in maternal habitual diet pattern and plasma fatty acid composition in relation to the length of gestation. results: the frequency of intake of n-3 fatty acid rich varieties of fish was higher (p<0.05) in ft mothers compared to pt mothers. maternal plasma fatty acid concentration of n-3 alpha linolenic acid (ala), eicosapentaenoic acid (epa), dha and total n-3 fatty acids at delivery was significantly associated with intake of vegetarian ala sources such as millets, dark whole pulses, dry fruits like walnuts, and green leafy vegetables. among age, parity, and neonatal sex matched case-control pairs, pt mothers had significantly (p<0.01) higher levels of n-6 ara, but lower (p<0.01) levels of n-3 dha and total n-3 fatty acids compared to ft mothers irrespective of socioeconomic group. in fact, mothers with plasma dha levels below median (<3.0%) had ten times higher risk (or-10.47; 95% ci: 3.03-36.48) of delivering prematurely compared to those who had plasma dha levels above median. conclusion: results underscore the importance of consuming varied sources of ala and dha for their role as functional lipids in determining gestational length. key words: lcpufa, maternal diet, omega 3, dha, preterm birth, relative risk downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-11-16 issue vol. 2 no. 11 (2012): november 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com cost-effectiveness analysis for the treatment of chronic kidney disease with low-protein diet | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 / research articles cost-effectiveness analysis for the treatment of chronic kidney disease with low-protein diet authors f. s. mennini dept nephrology, centre hospitalier lyon sud, center for european nutrition and safety, université de lyon s. russo dept nephrology, centre hospitalier lyon sud, center for european nutrition and safety, université de lyon a. marcellusi dept nephrology, centre hospitalier lyon sud, center for european nutrition and safety, université de lyon f. palazzo departments of nephrology dialysis and cardiology, silvestrini hospital, perugia p. quintaliani department of statistics, university of rome “la sapienza” doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i7.47 abstract background: several clinical studies have shown that a low protein diet in patients with chronic kidney disease (ckd), delays the natural progression of the end stage renal disease (esrd) and the necessary treatment of chronic dialysis. objective: the aim of this study is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of a low protein diet compared with no dietary treatment in patients with ckd stage 4 and 5 after 2, 3, 5 and 10 years. method: a markov model was developed to estimate costs and qalys associated with low protein diet versus no treatment for patients with ckd stage 4-5. the transition probability was estimated on data from seven studies which determined the efficacy of low protein diets in delaying the need to start maintenance dialysis. the quality adjusted life years (qalys) scores used were estimated with the time trade off technique. the annual cost of dialysis per patient was estimated to be approximately €34,072. the costs of a low-protein diet was €1,440 per patient per year in the lazio region (conservative assumptions).   results: treatment with a low-protein diet was more effective in terms of qalys: the difference was always in favour of dietary treatment from a 0.09 qalys after the first two years, 0.16 after three years, 0.36 after five years and up to a differential of 0.93 year after the first 10 years of treatment. in terms of cost-effectiveness, the dietary treatment was always dominant in all intervals considered. the dominance is due to the fact that the treatment is more effective in terms of qalys and at the same time is less expensive. conclusion: the results of these simulations indicate that the treatment of ckd patients with a low protein diet is cost effective relative to no treatment in an italian setting. further studies should test this model in other countries with different dialysis costs and dietary support. key words: chronic kidney disease, low-protein diet, cost-effectiveness of a low protein diet downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-07-07 issue vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com benzotropolone moiety in theaflavins is responsible for inhibiting peptide-transport and activating amp-activated protein kinase in caco-2 cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 / research articles benzotropolone moiety in theaflavins is responsible for inhibiting peptide-transport and activating amp-activated protein kinase in caco-2 cells authors ha-young park department of bioscience and biotechnology, division of bioresources and biosciences, faculty of agriculture, graduate school of kyushu university, 6-10-1 hakozaki, fukuoka, 812-8581 yuri kunitake department of bioscience and biotechnology, division of bioresources and biosciences, faculty of agriculture, graduate school of kyushu university, 6-10-1 hakozaki, fukuoka, 812-8581 toshiro matsui department of bioscience and biotechnology, division of bioresources and biosciences, faculty of agriculture, graduate school of kyushu university, 6-10-1 hakozaki, fukuoka, 812-8581 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i5.60 abstract objective: in the small intestine, peptide transporter 1 (pept1) plays a role in the transport of diand tri-peptides. recently, we found that theaflavins (tfs), dimeric catechins, inhibited the transport of di-peptides across caco-2 monolayers by suppressing the expression of pept1 through amp-activated protein kinase (ampk) activation. in this study, we investigated the structural requirement of theaflavins for the effect, and the mechanism(s) underling theaflavin-induced ampk activation. methods: theaflavin-3’-o-gallate (tf3’g) was used for this study, since it possessed the most potent inhibition power for peptide-transport among theaflavins. absorption ability was measured with caco-2 cell monolayers treated with or without 20 μm sample (tf3’g or its related compounds) in an ussing chamber. the amount of gly-sar (a model of pept1-transporing peptide) transport at fixed time-points to 60 min was determined by fluorescent naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde-derivatized assay (ex/em: 405 nm/460 nm). the apparent permeability coefficient (papp) was used to evaluate the permeability. expression of pept1 protein in caco-2 cells treated with or without 20 μm tf3’g in the presence or absence of inhibitor (10 μm compound c as ampk inhibitor or 25 μm sto-609 as camkk inhibitor) was evaluated by western blot. results: the papp value of gly-sar significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in 20 μm purprogallin-treated caco-2 cells as well as in tf3’g-treated cells, together with the reduction of pept1 expression, while their monomeric catechins did not show any papp reduction. in tf3'g-treated caco-2 cells, the recovery of the reduced pept1 expression was found by 10 μm compound c, but not sto-609. conclusion: the study demonstrated that the benzotropolone moiety in theaflavins was a crucial structural requirement for exerting the inhibition of intestinal peptide-transport, and the suppression of pept1 expression by theaflavins would be caused by activating lkb1/ampk pathway, but not camkk/ampk pathway. keywords: theaflavin-3’-ο-gallate, peptide transport, pept1, benzotropolone, amp-activated protein kinase, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-05-24 issue vol. 3 no. 5 (2013): may 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com water-soluble low-molecular-weight b-(1, 3–1, 6) d-glucan inhibit cedar pollinosis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 / short report water-soluble low-molecular-weight b-(1, 3–1, 6) d-glucan inhibit cedar pollinosis authors tomoko jippo department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university, 5-25-1 fujishirodai, suita, osaka 565-0873, japan; toshio suzuki department of applied chemistry and bioengineering, graduate school of engineering, osaka city university, sugimoto 3-3-138, sumiyoshi-ku, osaka 558-8585, japan harumi sato department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university, 5-25-1 fujishirodai, suita, osaka 565-0873, japan; yuko kobayashi department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university, 5-25-1 fujishirodai, suita, osaka 565-0873, japan; munekazu shigekawa department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university, 5-25-1 fujishirodai, suita, osaka 565-0873, japan; doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i2.173 abstract background: the incidences of allergenic diseases such as allergenic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, and food allergies have increased in several countries. mast cells have critical roles in various biological processes related to allergenic diseases. mast cells express the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin (ig) e on their surface. the interaction of multivalent antigens with surface-bound ige causes the secretion of granule-stored mediators, as well as the de novo synthesis of cytokines. those mediators and cytokines proceed the allergenic diseases. we investigated the effects of water-soluble, low-molecular-weight b-(1, 3–1, 6) d-glucan isolated from aureobasidium pullulans 1a1 strain black yeast (lmw-b-glucan) on mast cell-mediated anaphylactic reactions. we reported that lmw-b-glucan dose-dependently inhibited the degranulation of mast cells. furthermore, we found that orally administered lmw-b-glucan inhibited the ige-mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (pca) reaction in mice. here, we examined if lmw-b-glucan had any effects on japanese cedar pollinosis. findings: in a clinical study, a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study in 65 subjects (aged 22-62) was performed. this study was undertaken 3 weeks before the cedar pollen season and until the end of the cedar pollen season. during the study, all subjects consumed one bottle of placebo or lmw-b-glucan daily, and all subjects were required to record allergenic symptoms in a diary. the lmw-b-glucan group had a significantly lower prevalence of sneezing, nose-blowing, tears, and hindrance to the activities of daily living than the placebo group. conclusions: these results suggest that lmw-b-glucan could be an effective treatment for allergenic diseases. key words: mast cell, anti-allergy, b-glucan, cedar pollinosis downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-02-25 issue vol. 5 no. 2 (2015): february 2015 section short report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-jugular vein thrombotic effect of morinda citrifolia l. [noni] in male sd rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 / research articles anti-jugular vein thrombotic effect of morinda citrifolia l. [noni] in male sd rats authors funmi ayanbule university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, department of pathology, 1600 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 guodong li zhengzhou university, department of bioengineering, 100 science road, zhengzhou, henan 450001 lin peng university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, department of pathology, 1600 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 jacob nowicki university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, department of pathology, 1600 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 gary anderson university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, department of pathology, 1600 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 mian-ying wang university of illinois college of medicine at rockford, department of pathology, 1600 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i9.122 abstract background: venous thromboembolism (vte) is a common and serious medical condition, which is estimably responsible for more than 300,000 hospital admissions annually in the usa. pulmonary embolism (pe) is a major complication of vte, which contributes to 12% death of hospitalized patients. heparin is the most common anti-coagulant, but severe allergic reactions, bleeding, and thrombocytopenia limit its use. thus, seeking a botanical, nontoxic antithrombotic alternative is an interesting area. morinda citrifolia l. [noni] is a medicinal plant used in folk remedies by polynesians for over 2,000 years. it has been reported to have a broad range of therapeutic and preventive effects. the bioactivities of nj have been continuously discovered with antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and immune modifying activities. our novel hypothesis is whether nj has an anti-venous thrombotic effect in rodents. to examine our hypothesis, this study was designed to examine the anti-thrombotic effect of nj on the jugular vein thrombosis model induced by ferric chloride in sd rats. material and methods: nj and placebo used in this study were donated by morinda holding inc. nj was formulated with grape juice and blue berry juice. placebo was prepared by using the same procedure of nj preparation, but without nj in it. thirty-six male sd rats were divided into six groups. anti-venous thrombotic activities of 5% nj, 10% nj, heparin, and 10% nj plus heparin were examined and compared with the positive and blank controls. thrombosis was induced by application of a filter paper soaked in 50% ferric chloride on the right jugular vein. a 2-cm fragment of the occluded vein (thrombus) was removed and weighed after 1-hour maturation. blood samples were collected for platelet count, aptt, and pt tests. results: the weight of a 2-cm fragment of normal jugular vein was 9.9 ± 2.1 mg, while the weight of the occluded vein in positive controls was 30.7 ± 12 mg [p=0.001], 24.7 ± 6.5 mg in heparin [p=0.16], 25.5 ± 6.5 mg in 5% nj [p=0.15], 20.0 ± 5 mg in 10% nj [p=0.04], and 16.1 ± 5.0 mg in heparin plus 10% nj [p=0.02], respectively. the activity of aptt was significantly increased in heparin, 60.0 ± 10.0 sec [p=0.002] compared with 16.83 ± 4.9 sec in blank control. there was a significant increase in 5% nj [34.24 ± 9.6 sec, p=0.01], a slight increase in 10% nj [24.0 ± 5.4 sec, p=0.06]. the activity of pt was significantly increased in heparin group only [36.52 ± 3.0 sec vs 26.85 ± 0.4 sec in blank control, p=0.01). there was no significant change in nj groups. clearly, the reduced thrombus weight by heparin may be partially due to the activation of aptt and pt. the slight inhibition of nj on aptt activity may explain the possible additive antithrombotic effect of nj with heparin. the platelet count was slightly reduced to 775,700 in the heparin group compared with blank control, there was no changes observed in other groups. conclusion: nj has an anti-jugular vein thrombotic effect and a possible additive antithrombotic effect with heparin by activating aptt without induction of thrombocytopenia. we wonder whether nj has an anti-platelet function activity. the mechanisms for anti-venous thrombotic effects of nj needs further study. key words: morinda citrifolia l. [noni], noni juice (nj), jugular vein thrombosis, heparin, antithrombosis, anticoagulant, activated partial thromboplastin time [aptt], prothrombin time [pt]. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-09-22 issue vol. 1 no. 9 (2011): september 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory effects of dairyand soy-derived peptides in pre-hypertensive overweight men and women | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 1 (2013): january 2013 / short report angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory effects of dairyand soy-derived peptides in pre-hypertensive overweight men and women authors melissa s. munn department of food science and nutrition, university of minnesota, 1334 eckles avenue, saint paul, mn 55108 shalamar sibley department of medicine, university of minnesota, 420 delaware street, se, minneapolis, mn 55455, richard brundage department of experimental and clinical pharmacology, university of minnesota, 717 delaware street se, minneapolis, mn 55414 baraem ismail department of food science and nutrition, university of minnesota, 1334 eckles avenue, saint paul, mn 55108 carrie p. earthman department of food science and nutrition, university of minnesota, 1334 eckles avenue, saint paul, mn 55108 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i1.78 abstract background: hypertension is considered the most prevalent cardiovascular disorder and a significant public health problem. a functional food that could potentially impede progression into a hypertensive state in pre-hypertensive individuals is of significant interest to clinicians and consumers. in vitro and animal studies suggest the presence of potential ace inhibitory dairy-and soy-derived peptides. very few human-based research studies have been conducted to investigate the blood pressure lowering and/or ace-inhibitory effects of whey and soy protein hydrolysates in humans. this pilot study tested the acute effects of 20g doses of whey and soy hydrolysates in pre-hypertensive, overweight men and postmenopausal women on serum ace activity and blood pressure.  findings: using a randomized crossover design, four initial subjects received five treatments (unhydrolyzed casein, whey protein isolate, whey protein hydrolysate, soy protein isolate, soy protein hydrolysate) at different testing visits separated by three-day washout periods. blood pressure and blood draws to measure ace activity were taken at thirty minute intervals following treatment consumption. both the soy protein and whey protein hydrolysates had notable in vitro ace-inhibitory activity, both before and after heat treatment. no differences were observed among the protein treatments for either ace activity or systolic blood pressure. conclusions: the results of this pilot study support a discrepancy between in vitro and human-based in vivo ace-inhibitory acute effects of whey and soy protein hydrolysates, underscoring the need for further research to better understand potential explanations for these findings.    key words: ace (angiotensin-converting enzyme), casein, soy, whey, protein, blood pressure, dairy, bioactive, peptides downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-01-27 issue vol. 3 no. 1 (2013): january 2013 section short report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com astaxanthin as a medical food | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 / review articles astaxanthin as a medical food authors eiji yamashita department of research & development, medical nutrition division, astareal co., ltd., tokyo doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i7.49 abstract astaxanthin is a red pigment that belongs to the carotenoid family like β-carotene. and it’s found in seafood such as crustaceans: shrimp and crabs and fish: salmon and sea bream. recently, astaxanthin has been reported to have antioxidant activity up to 100 times more potent than that of vitamin e against lipid peroxidation and about 40 times more potent than that of β-carotene on singlet oxygen quenching. astaxanthin does not show any pro-oxidant activity and its main sight of action is on/in the cell membrane. various important benefits to date have suggested for human health such as immunomodulation, anti-stress, anti-inflammation, ldl cholesterol oxidation suppression, enhanced skin health, improved semen quality, attenuating eye fatigue, sport performance and endurance, limiting exercised induced muscle damage, suppressing the development of life-style related diseases such as obesity, atherosclerosis, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. nowadays, the research and demand for natural astaxanthin in human health application are explosively growing worldwide. especially, the clinicians use the astaxanthin extracted from the microalgae, haematotoccus pluvialis as an add-on supplementation for the patients who are unsatisfied with the current medications or who can’t receive any medications because of their serious symptom. for example, the treatment enhances their daily activity levels or qol in heart failure or benign prostatic hypertrophy/lower urinary tract symptom patients other studies and trials are under way on chronic diseases such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, diabetes and cvd. we may call astaxanthin “a medical food” in the near future. keywords: astaxanthin, medical food, haematococcus, add-on supplementation downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-07-03 issue vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com preparation of function-enhanced vegetable oils | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 6 no. 1 (2016): january 2016 / research articles preparation of function-enhanced vegetable oils authors hiroshi maeda takao satoh waliul islam doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v6i1.223 abstract background: previously, we (hm) found that most commercially available edible oils, which were processed by hexane extraction followed by a number of purification steps, were extremely low in anti-peroxy radical (roo.), or radical scavenging activity.  this is a great contrast to the respective virgin oils as exemplified by extra-virgin olive oil or crude rape seed oil [1-4] (figure 1).  therefore, such highly purified oils will became prooxidant and less desirable food components in terms of health oriented diet. oxidized oils may eventually cause dna cleavages, modification of proteins, rna, and lipids, as well as cellular damage, or promote inflammation and carcinogenesis at later time [5-9].  these commercial oils of low antioxidant activity may be improved by adding functionally effective antioxidative components, by using dried vegetable-waste such as tomato-juice-waste-residues and wine-ferment-waste-residues. their antioxiative components will be transferred into the functionally poor grade edible oils, and consequently, one can improve the quality of such functionally poor oils and thereby contributing human health [2,8,9].   the purpose of this paper is to report a practical procedure to fortify functionally low grade conventional edible oils to functionally enriched edible oils using dried vegetable-waste residues such as tomato juice waste, and wine-ferment-residues, or other vegetable-waste residues. methods:  (1) preparation and measurements of lycopene and carotenoid enriched oils.  to 5.0g or 1.0g of the dried residue of tomato juice waste, 100ml of commercial rape seed (canola) oil was added respectively. each mixture was incubated at room temperature in dark for several weeks.  amount of lycopene and carotenoids extracted into the oil was monitored by increase of absorption (400-550nm) and fluorescence at 470nm of carotenoid.  grape-juice ferment (wine) waste was similarly prepared after hot air drying, and immersed in canola oil. (2) evaluation of function-enriched edible oils: preventive effect of lipid peroxidation; (a)  heat exposure: commercial rape-seed oil and extra virgin oil were used as controls.  for preparation of the test samples (function fortified oils) of tomato-juice waste-residue and grape wineferment waste-residues, it is described in above section (1).  all oil preparations were exposed to high temperature at 150oc and peroxide value (pov), acid value and tbars were measured at various times as described.  the methods of measurements of pov, acid value and tbars were adapted conventional standard method described elsewhere.  (b)  light exposure:  similar to (a) they were exposed to excessive light using nippon ikaga kikai (tokyo), lh-200-rds equipped with fluorescent light tube (x3), nec fl40s-2xn, 3.2k lux at 390-730nm.  result and discussions: (1)  extraction of carotenoids etc. modern edible oil refining processes are highly elaborated and efficient. the most of the commercial edible oils in the market are so purified that many important antioxidant components are mostly removed during refining process.  oils became mostly colorless and odorless; and they lack are devoid of anti-oxidative or radical scavenging components.  we measured anti-alkyl peroxy radical (roo.)-scavenging activity, and found that many commercial oils have very little such activity (figure 1). many disposalof tomato juice or extraction waste-residues in wine making, yet contained significant amount of functionally useful components that may be recovered by immersing the dried waste residues in the functionally poor oil, ie., low grade oils.  figure 2a, b shows it was indeed possible to recover such component like lycopene and carotenoids, and the spectrum of this oil exhibits multiple peaks correspond tomato lycopene. (2) antioxidation activity: (a) acid value after light and heat exposure. commercial highly purified edible oils are vulnerable for oxidation and resulting in lipid or alkyl hydroperoxides formation (rooh), which undergo formation lipid (alkyl) peroxyl radicals which (roo.) in the presence of heme or other metallic compounds (rooh à roo.) (figure 1) [5, 11].  this peroxyradical can break dna/rna or damage proteins and lead to cell death [4-7, 11]. time course of carotenoids extraction into the purified canola oil, in which 1 or 5% (dry wt/wt) of tomato juice waste-residue yielded a significantly high carotenoid values, and extraction reached a plateau in about two to three weeks (fig. 2a). the absorption spectrum shows multiple peaks corresponding lycopene (fig. 2b).    (b) anti-pov after heat and light exposure. upon exposure to oxidation condition, pov was significantly suppressed to 25% after 5 hrs at 150oc and light exposure (above) to the 5% (w/w) tomato-residue-treated oil, and showed suppression of pov to about 25% (net) at 5 hrs (fig. 3).  (c) tbars value after light and heat exposure. figure 4c, d shows results of function fortified effect in oils treated with tomatoand wine ferment-waste-residues. they also showed significant suppression against the increase of acid value and pov (figure 4a, b), which is consistent with absorption spectra. these results indicate antioxidant components in dried tomato juice-waste-residues and wine ferment waste-residues were extracted into commercial low functional grade rapeseed oil. the results warrant a simple procedure to convert low quality edible oils to function-enriched high grade oils. the procedure not only prevents oxidation of oils, but also beneficial in providing various functional components such as polyphenolics, flavonoids, carotenoid, or lycopene.  this method and products thus obtained will ultimately benefit human health such as prevention of cancer and inflammation [8, 9, 11].  we have previously published that alkyl peroxyradical facilitates promotion step in carcinogenesis, and it was suppressed by various vegetable soup extracts, thus in suppressing promotion step in multistep carcinogenesis [2, 4, 10]. the step may be related to the suppression of inflammatory process as well via activation of cyclooxygenase i and i-nos, as well as tumor necrosis factor [8, 9]. in the manufacturing traditional japanese rape-seed (canola) oil, the seeds were roasted at high temperature.  we found during this heating process, new antioxidant component (canolol), which is a potent scavenger of alkylperoxyl radical and peroxinitrite (onoo-), was efficiently generated, and the oil became much healthier benefit than highly purified rape seed oil in the market, which are prepared by hexane extraction and other purification steps. in these few decades’ vegetable oils are considered not healthy dietary components. this is probably due to preciously important antioxidants components, which originally did exist as intrinsic components in the seeds, were removed so effectively during manufacturing and purification processes. as a result, vegetable oils became prooxidant or procarcinogen, and thus unfavorable food staff. now our method described herein provide easy enrichment procedure for functional components utilizing wasted residues of vegetable including wine and juice making. keywords: antioxidative components, enrichment of edible oils, lipid oxidation, dried vegetable-waste-residues. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2016-01-18 issue vol. 6 no. 1 (2016): january 2016 section research articles license copyright (c) 2016 hiroshi maeda, takao satoh, waliul islam this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com metabolic syndrome: the complex relationship of diet to conditions of disturbed metabolism | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 / review articles metabolic syndrome: the complex relationship of diet to conditions of disturbed metabolism authors jeffrey s. bland metagenics, inc., 9770 44th ave nw, ste 100, gig harbor, wa 98332 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i2.144 abstract the widespread prevalence and deleterious effects of metabolic syndrome have become a major public health challenge as it is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. lifestyle modification focusing on diet has shown promise for managing cardiovascular disease risk, and clinical studies provide evidence that a mediterranean diet supplemented with phytochemicals is a successful interventional approach. the role of phytochemicals in regulating gene expression and modulating intracellular kinase activity has only recently begun to be appreciated. clinical studies investigating the effects of specific phytochemicals in metabolic syndrome patients have produced encouraging results, including normalization of metabolic function, reduction of cardiovascular risk, and resolution of metabolic syndrome. as research advances our understanding of the evolutionary relationships between plants and humans, details are emerging about the mechanisms by which phytochemicals regulate insulin signaling and inflammatory responses. this expanding field of research is likely to lead to novel, effective clinical approaches for combating chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-02-14 issue vol. 1 no. 2 (2011): february 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com biography of biophenols: past, present and future | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 / review articles biography of biophenols: past, present and future authors hassan k. obied graham centre for agricultural innovation, school of biomedical sciences, charles sturt university, wagga wagga, nsw, 2678 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i6.51 abstract background: the term “biophenols” was first coined by romeo and uccella in 1996 to denote bioactive phenols in olives replacing the more common and less chemically accurate term “polyphenols”. “biophenols” has started gaining popularity beyond olive chemistry and currently used by researchers to refer to plant phenols in general. biophenols constitute the largest group of secondary plant metabolites with ubiquitous presence in plants and wide spectrum of biological activities. during the last three decades, biophenols have seized scientific attention, lured industry and attracted consumers’ interest due to their antioxidative potential in preservation of food and maintaining human health. for the first time, a definition for “biophenols” has been proposed to present a more precise and comprehensive umbrella term to encompass all phenolic compounds of botanical origin. in this article, the author is tracing the landmarks of the history of biophenol research; profiling contemporary research directions; highlighting research controversies and uncertainties; and presenting an outlook of the biophenols future research. keywords: polyphenols, chemistry, pharmacology, biological activities, antioxidant downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-06-24 issue vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com impact of dietary intervention with a functional food supplement to combat anemia the blood iron metabolic disorder among the coffee plantation laborers | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 1 (2013): january 2013 / research articles impact of dietary intervention with a functional food supplement to combat anemia the blood iron metabolic disorder among the coffee plantation laborers authors vasantha esther rani department of home science with food biotechnology, fatima college (autonomous) madurai, tamil nadu samuel paulraj school of energy sciences, madurai kamaraj university, madurai, tamil nadu doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i1.66 abstract objective: to assess the nutritional status and other nutrition related problems of the workers. to design, implement and evaluate the impact of dietary intervention for the nutritional metabolic disorder which is directly related to productivity. background: indian economy greatly relies on agriculture. agriculture is set to play a more dynamic role in the economy. the present study focuses on the nutritional status with special reference to the blood iron profile of manual coffee plantation laborers belonging to kodaikannal, tamil nadu, india. the outcome of this study on the dietary intervention, based on nutritional picture of coffee plantation laborers, will have a nationwide application because of the simplified, stable coffee plantation operations throughout india. method: experiments were carried out in three phases. in the first phase, the personal background of the laborers was assessed. in the second phase, the nutritional and health status of the laborers, through dietary survey comprising 24 hour food recall record and weighment of cooked food consumed for three consecutive days, clinical and biochemical profile were studied. the serum iron was measured with the total iron binding capacity, from which the transferrin saturation was calculated. in the third phase, dietary intervention was implemented with a nutrient rich nutraceutical food supplement spirulina incorporated soup. the supplementation was extended for a period of 120 days. the subjects were grouped into control and the experimental group. the control group was given plain soup and the experimental group was administered with soup incorporated with spirulina. the impact of intervention on the biochemical and nutritional profile of the laborers was reassessed in similar working conditions. results: a deficit of 0.1 mg to 0.3 mg of iron intake per kg body weight in the male and female laborers was observed when compared to their rda. the clinical pictures reveal that 94 percent suffered from anemia, 56 percent showed anemic signs of spooning of nails (koilonychyia), 36 percent of the subjects had glossitis (mouth ulcer), 16 percent suffered from bleeding gums, 4 percent had cheilosis (ulceration of tongue) and 28 percent had angular stomatitis. the average hemoglobin level was 8.6 ± 1.12g/dl for men and 8.1±1.01g/dl for women which are 28 and 37 percent less than normal respectively. dietary intervention of 5g of spirulina in 150 ml of soup had significantly improved the blood iron profile. among the male laborers, 10 percent who suffered from severe anemia with 7.9 g.dl-1 hemoglobin before intervention were shifted to moderate levels of 9.4 g.dl-1, 30 percent who suffered from mild anemia were shifted to normal ones and among 60 percent of male laborers who were moderately anemic, 50 percent reverted to normalcy. conclusion: in the present study it was observed that the habitual dietary intake showed deficiency in consumption of iron rich foods and the clinical picture revealed the signs and symptoms of anemia the blood iron profile hemoglobin (hb), serum iron, transferrin saturation, serum ferritin, total iron binding capacity (tibc) and unsaturated iron binding capacity (uibc) were greatly influenced by dietary intervention with the functional food spirulina incorporated soup the blood hemoglobin content increased by 21 percent i.e from 10.9 to 13.3g.dl-1. serum iron, serum ferritin and transferrin levels showed a consistent and progressive rise while tibc and uibc reduced resulting in a positive iron balance. keywords: dietary intervention, functional food, spirulina, hemoglobin, anemia downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-01-27 issue vol. 3 no. 1 (2013): january 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of grape seed extract on postprandial oxidative status and metabolic responses in men and women with the metabolic syndrome randomized, cross-over, placebo-controlled study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 12 (2012): december 2012 / research articles effect of grape seed extract on postprandial oxidative status and metabolic responses in men and women with the metabolic syndrome randomized, cross-over, placebo-controlled study authors indika edirisinghe center for nutrition research, institute for food safety and health, illinois institute of technology, bedford park, il 60501 jody randolph department of nutrition, university of california davis, davis, ca 95616 mandeep cheema department of nutrition, university of california davis, davis, ca 95616 ravi tadapaneni center for nutrition research, institute for food safety and health, illinois institute of technology, bedford park, il 60501 eunyoung park center for nutrition research, institute for food safety and health, illinois institute of technology, bedford park, il 60501 britt burton-freeman center for nutrition research, institute for food safety and health, illinois institute of technology, bedford park, il 60501 tissa kappagoda department of internal medicine, university of california davis, davis, ca 95616 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i12.68 abstract objective: this investigation was undertaken to determine whether a grape seed extract (gse) that is rich in mono-, oligoand polymeric polyphenols would modify postprandial oxidative stress and inflammation in individuals with the metabolic syndrome (mets). background: mets is known to be associated with impaired glucose tolerance and poor glycemic control. consumption of a meal high in readily available carbohydrates and fat causes postprandial increases in glycemia and lipidemia and markers of oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance. materials/methods: after an overnight fast, twelve subjects with mets (5 men and 7 women) consumed a breakfast meal high in fat and carbohydrate in a cross-over design. a gse (300 mg) or placebo capsule was administrated 1 hr before the meal (-1 hr). changes in plasma insulin, glucose, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers were measured hourly for 6 hr. results: plasma hydrophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity (orac) measured as the positive incremental area under the curve (-1 to 5 hr) was significantly increased when the meal was preceded by gse compared with placebo (p<0.05). meal-induced increases in oxidized ldl were attenuated with gse (p<0.05). plasma glucose concentrations (area under the curve from -1 to 5 hr) were also significantly lower when the meal was preceded by gse (p<0.05) while the insulin concentrations remained unchanged (p>0.05). no changes in inflammatory markers were evident. conclusion: these data suggest that gse enhances postprandial plasma antioxidant status and reduces the glycemic response to a meal, high in fat and carbohydrate in subjects with the mets. key words: polyphenols, oxidative stress, inflammation, orac, oxidized ldl downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-12-23 issue vol. 2 no. 12 (2012): december 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com dietary omega-3 fatty acids and locomotor activity in an animal model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 / research articles dietary omega-3 fatty acids and locomotor activity in an animal model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) authors klaus w. lange department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg ewelina makulska-gertruda department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg jakob reisinger department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg thomas-a. sontag department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg joachim hauser department of experimental psychology, university of regensburg, 93040 regensburg doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i6.52 abstract background: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) is the most frequent behavioral disorder of childhood and is characterized by hyperactivity, attention problems and impulsivity. pharmacological and behavioral therapies have been shown to be effective. in addition, the role of dietary compounds in the etiology and possibly the treatment of adhd has attracted increasing attention. for example, the lack of dietary essential fatty acids has been suggested to be associated with symptoms of adhd in humans. objective: to investigate the effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 pufas) on locomotor activity in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (shr) which has been proposed as an animal model of adhd. methods: two groups of randomly assigned spontaneously hypertensive rats were fed with either n-3 pufa-deficient or n-3 pufa-enriched food (based on ain93g) for six weeks and this was continued during the phase of behavioral testing. locomotor activity was subsequently assessed using an open field test. results: the results showed a marked difference in locomotor activity between the two groups of shrs. in comparison with rats fed with n-3 deficient food, the animals on an n-3 enriched diet showed a statistically significant decrease in motor activity as assessed by the distance traveled. conclusions: the present study demonstrates a marked reduction in locomotor activity following an n-3 pufa-enriched diet in shrs, i.e. the dietary enrichment with n-3 pufas reduced the motor activity in an established animal model of adhd. dietary n-3 pufas may therefore play a role in the pathophysiology of adhd. key words: omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, adhd, animal model, spontaneously hypertensive rat, shr, motor activity downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-06-21 issue vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com metabolic correction for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a biochemical-physiological therapeutic approach | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 1 (2013): january 2013 / research articles metabolic correction for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a biochemical-physiological therapeutic approach authors n. a. mikirova riordan clinic, 3100, n hillside, wichita, ks a. m. rogers riordan clinic, 3100, n hillside, wichita, ks p. r. taylor riordan clinic, 3100, n hillside, wichita, ks r. e. hunninghake riordan clinic, 3100, n hillside, wichita, ks j. r. miranda-massari department of practice, school of pharmacy, medical sciences campus, university of puerto rico, san juan m. j. gonzalez nutrition program, department of human development, school of public health, medical sciences campus, university of puerto rico, san juan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i1.67 abstract objective: this investigation was undertaken to determine the reference values of specific biochemical markers that have been have been associated with behavior typical of adhd in a group of patients before and after metabolic correction. background: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) affects approximately two million american children, and this condition has grown to become the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder of childhood. according to the national institute of mental health (nimh), the cause of the condition, once called hyperkinesis, is not known. the cause of adhd is generally acknowledged to be multifactorial, involving both biological and environmental influence. molecular, genetic, and pharmacological studies suggest the involvement of the neurotransmitter systems in the pathogenesis of adhd. polymorphic variants in several genes involved in regulation of dopamine have been identified, and related neurotransmitter pathways alterations are reported to be associated with the disease. nutritional deficiencies, including deficiencies in fatty acids (epa, dha), the amino acid methionine, and the trace minerals zinc and selenium, have been shown to influence neuronal function and produce defects in neuronal plasticity, as well as impact behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. materials/methods: this study was based on data extracted from our patient history database covering a period of over ten years. we performed laboratory tests in 116 patients 2.7-25 years old with a diagnosis of adhd. sixty-six percent (66%) of patients were males. patients were followed from 3 month to 3 years. we compared the distributions of fatty acids, essential metals, and the levels of metabolic stress factors with established reference ranges before and after interventions. in addition, we analyzed the association between toxic metal concentrations and the levels of essential metals. results: this study was based on data extracted from our patient history database covering a period of over ten years. we performed laboratory tests in 116 patients 2.7-25 years old with a diagnosis of adhd. sixty-six percent (66%) of patients were males. patients were followed from 3 month to 3 years. we compared the distributions of fatty acids, essential metals, and the levels of metabolic stress factors with established reference ranges before and after interventions. in addition, we analyzed the association between toxic metal concentrations and the levels of essential metals. according to these data, the metabolic correction of adhd by supplementation with minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids, and amino acids can ameliorate adhd symptoms. eighty percent (80%) of children who were treated from several weeks to 1-2 years, demonstrated improvement of metabolic stress level, measured by pyrroles. for these patients the levels of epa were increased and the omega-6/omega-3 ratio was improved. conclusion: in the studied population it was demonstrated that metabolic correction of biochemical disturbances using essential fatty acids, amino acids, and minerals can improve fatty acid profiles and metabolic stress levels. these disturbances or variations from reference values have been associated with behavior typical of adhd. further studies need to be conducted with integrative metabolic correction therapy to determine its value in the management of adhd. key words: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, metabolic correction, fatty acid composition, essential metals, toxic metals, pyrroles, vitamins and minerals. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-01-27 issue vol. 3 no. 1 (2013): january 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com green tea for the prevention of cancer: evidence of field epidemiology | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 10 (2012): october 2012 / research articles green tea for the prevention of cancer: evidence of field epidemiology authors min zhang school of population health, the university of western australia, perth, wa lin li school of population health, the university of western australia, perth, wa ping liu school of population health, the university of western australia, perth, wa c. d’arcy j. holman school of population health, the university of western australia, perth, wa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i10.79 abstract background: tea is derived from the leaf of camellia sinensis, a natural beverage widely consumed around the world. geological and botanical evidence suggests that the tea plant originated from china. varying methods of processing tea leaves lead to green tea, black tea, or oolong tea, which differ in their concentrations of polyphenols. green tea polyphenols appear to have anti-tumorigenic properties, and form 30-40% of the dry weight of green tea compared with only 3-10% of black tea. numerous studies in multiple animal models and different cancer cell lines have demonstrated the anti-tumorigenesis by green tea polyphenols. despite the consistency of laboratory results, evidence of this effect occuring in humans has been inconclusive to date. objective: to investigate if green tea consumption was associated with longer survival rates in ovarian cancer patients, and a lower risk of ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancer, in addition to adult leukemia methods: we have conducted one prospective cohort study in ovarian cancer patients, and five case-control studies in ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancers, and leukemia over the past decade. tea consumption was measured using a structured questionnaire by face-to-face interviews. the validity and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed in a preliminary study, and then evaluated by a test–retest. cox proportional hazards regression models were used to obtain hazard ratios(hrs), 95% confidence intervals(95% cis), and were adjusted for age at diagnosis, locality, body mass index(bmi), parity, international federation of gynecology and obstetrics (ifgo) stage, histologic grade of differentiation, cytology of ascites, residual tumour, and chemotherapeutic status. odds ratios(ors) and 95% cis were obtained using logistic regression analyses, which accounted for demographic, lifestyle, hormonal and family cancer factors, and potential confounders.  results: higher green tea consumption was consistently observed as being associated with a lower risk of mortality due to ovarian cancer, and a decreased risk of ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancers, and adult leukemia occurrences in our observational studies. the adjusted hr and 95% ci for case mortality from ovarian cancer was 0.40(0.18-0.90) in the patients who consumed green tea at the highest level compared with non-tea drinkers. compared with never or seldom tea drinkers, the adjusted ors ranged from 0.07 to 0.61 for ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancers, and adult leukemia in those who consumed green tea at the highest level. significant inverse dose-response relationships were also observed for quantity, duration, and frequency of green tea consumed. conclusion: we concluded that regular consumption of green tea enhanced survival of ovarian cancer, and decreased risks of ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancers, and adult leukemia. evidence from our observational studies supported the protective effect of green tea against cancers, and this evidence will provide a knowledge platform from which to launch interventional studies for cancer prevention in the next stage. key words: green tea, nutrition epidemiology, case-control studies, cohort studies, risk factor, cancer survival, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, adult leukemia, ovarian cancer downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-10-15 issue vol. 2 no. 10 (2012): october 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a review of the health benefits of strychnos decussata (pappe) gilg (loganiaceae): a potential functional food | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 / review articles a review of the health benefits of strychnos decussata (pappe) gilg (loganiaceae): a potential functional food authors alfred maroyi department of botany, university of fort hare, private bag x1314, alice 5700, south africa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i8.984 abstract strychnos decussata is a small to medium sized tree which naturally occurs in open-wooded and thickets in tropical africa. a critical appraisal of the medicinal, pharmacological and socio-economic properties of s. decussata are provided. research articles focusing on the medicinal, pharmacological and socio-economic properties of s. decussata were searched from online databases such as google scholar, pubmed, science direct, scielo and springerlink. no time limit was set for the search and all research outputs that aligned with the scope of the review were included. s. decussata has diverse uses as a food plant and also has medicinal uses such as charm and ritual, scorpion and snake bite antidote, ethnoveterinary medicine, and traditional medicine for fever, gastro-intestinal problems, headache, respiratory infections, wounds, venereal diseases and infections. s. decussata exert biological activities such as antifungal, antimycobacterial, antiplasmodial and convulsant activities. several phytochemical compounds such as decussine and decussine-type alkaloids, gluco-indole alkaloids and pentacyclic indole alkaloids have been isolated from the species. many applications of s. decussata as source of food and herbal medicines as well as its phytochemistry and pharmarcological properties need further investigations. keywords: buddleia family, ethnomedicinal uses, indigenous knowledge, loganiaceae, strychnos decussata downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-08-05 issue vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com suppression of blood glucose level elevation and promotion of glp-1 secretion by ingestion of undaria pinnatifida sporophylls (mekabu): open-label crossover design | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 / research articles suppression of blood glucose level elevation and promotion of glp-1 secretion by ingestion of undaria pinnatifida sporophylls (mekabu): open-label crossover design authors shiori takano faculty of human ecology, wayo women’s university kazuma yoshizumi kaneryo sea vegetable corporation hitomi kobayashi faculty of human nutrition, seitoku university naoki iwamoto faculty of contemporary human life science, tokyo kasei gakuin university masaki taga faculty of human ecology, wayo women’s university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i2.891 abstract background: it has been confirmed that the daily consumption of seaweed such as wakame (undaria pinnatifida) and kombu (saccharina japonica) has an inhibitory effect on the rise in postprandial blood glucose levels. similar effects can also be expected for mekabu, which is wakame sporophylls and contains large quantities of water-soluble dietary fiber. in this study, we examined the effects of preprandial intake of mekabu on postprandial blood glucose levels and blood glucose regulation-related hormones in healthy young women. methods: the subjects were ten healthy young adult women. mekabu was eaten, followed by rice only. blood was sampled five times: while fasting (0 min), and 15, 30, 90, and 120 minutes after eating. measurements were taken of blood glucose level and blood glucose regulation-related hormones. result: eating mekabu before rice resulted in a significant reduction of δglucose and δinsulin at 30 minutes after ingestion (p = 0.034, p = 0.049, respectively). the concentration of glucagon-like peptide-1 (glp-1) in plasma was higher 30 minutes after eating (p = 0.044), 60 minutes (p = 0.0.31), and 120 minutes (p = 0.019) when mekabu was eaten preprandially. conclusions: in the present study, glp-1 secretion was sustained by eating mekabu, which is wakame sporophylls, before rice. our results suggest that ingesting mekabu, which contains large amounts of viscous alginic acid, prior to a meal not only suppresses postprandial blood glucose level, but supports the extended secretion of glp-1, providing a sustainable incretin effect. keywords: mekabu (undaria pinnatifida sporophylls), blood glucose, glucagon-like peptide-1 (glp-1), insulin, incretin, water-soluble dietary fiber downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-02-16 issue vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-salmonella potential and antioxidant activity of fermented fruit-based juice by lactic acid bacteria and its biotransformation | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 / research articles anti-salmonella potential and antioxidant activity of fermented fruit-based juice by lactic acid bacteria and its biotransformation authors wanida laosee duangporn kantachote department of microbiology, faculty of science, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. worrapanit chansuwan center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. chakree thongraung center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. nualpun sirinuipong center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i8.813 abstract background: lactic acid bacteria-based fermentation clearly contributes to improving nutritional value and exhibits various health benefits. the demand for non-dairy functional beverages, such as fruit beverages, as an alternative vehicle for probiotics is increasing because of lifestyle choices or health conditions. therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-salmonella potential and antioxidant activity of fermented fruit-based juice by lactic acid bacteria and its biotransformation.   methods: in this study, to produce the fermented fruit-based juice (ffj), the mixed fruit juice (mfj) was fermented by lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus salivarius for 72 hrs. the potential function, anti-salmonella by the minimum inhibitory concentration (mic), minimum bactericidal concentration (mbc), and antibiofilm activities of ffj against salmonella typhi dmst 22842 was evaluated. the antioxidative capacity was determined by dpph and frap assay. the active volatile compounds were identified by gc-ms.  results: a novel functional ffj showed excellent growth capacity with 8 log cfu/ml of probiotics lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus salivarius. mic and mbc values in the ffj were 500 mg/ml after 72 hrs of fermentation. after 48hrs of fermentation, biofilm formation inhibition was significant (p < 0.05) with 95.27% ± 2.26% inhibition; biofilm metabolic activity inhibition was also significant (p < 0.05) with 89.25% ± 0.18% inhibition. the volatile compounds present in the ffj were fruity flavors and aromas, most of have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.  these compounds comprise various classes, including alcohols, organic acid, ester, and ketone. in both lab fermentations, the most abundant volatile alcohol was isoamyl alcohol, followed by 1-hexanol and 2,3-butanolone; acetic acid was only present in l. plantarum fermentation. in addition, dpph radical scavenging and frap assay showed the mixed fruit juice had dramatically increased antioxidant activity after 48 hrs of fermentation. conclusion: the findings of this work indicate that the obtained fermented fruit-based juice (ffj) showed excellent growth capacity of probiotics, lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus salivarius, and produced the volatile compounds from biotransformation. this not only improved fruit flavor and aroma, but also influenced antibacterial activity against the pathogen salmonella typhi dmst 22842, as well as increased antioxidant activity. therefore, the ffj could be a novel functional fermented drink for vegan and non-diary consumption. keywords: lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, biotransformation, non-dairy functional beverage, anti-salmonella author biographies duangporn kantachote, department of microbiology, faculty of science, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. department of microbiology, faculty of science, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. worrapanit chansuwan, center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. chakree thongraung, center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. nualpun sirinuipong, center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90112, thailand. center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university, 90110, thailand downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-08-23 issue vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of roselle (hibiscus) juice on mood improvement in healthy adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 / research articles the effect of roselle (hibiscus) juice on mood improvement in healthy adults authors noha m. almoraie food and nutrition department, faculty of human sciences and design, king abdul-aziz university, jeddah, saudi arabia najlaa m. aljefree phd, assistant professor at king abdulaziz university, maha a. althaiban phd, assistant professor at king abdulaziz university mahitab a. hanbazaza phd, assistant professor at king abdulaziz university huda a. wazzan phd, assistant professor at king abdulaziz university israa m shatwan phd, assistant professor at king abdulaziz university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i10.985 abstract introduction: the juice of hibiscus sabdariffa linn is commonly used as a traditional medicine for hypertension, pyrexia, and mood improvement. this study aimed to examine the effect of hibiscus juice on the mood states of healthy saudi adults.  methods: a total of 32 healthy adults were asked to complete a questionnaire and were subsequently provided with 250 ml of prepared hibiscus juice to drink daily for 1 week. the participants were instructed to answer the beck depression inventory before and after 1 week of drinking the hibiscus juice daily.  results: the results indicated a significantly positive change in the participants’ daily mood after 1 week of drinking 250 ml of hibiscus juice daily. drinking hibiscus juice enhanced mood status by increasing relaxation and decreasing fear of the future and heart palpitations in most participants. furthermore, it increased the consumption of caffeinated drinks. however, drinking hibiscus juice had no effect on the number of meals consumed.  conclusion: drinking hibiscus juice had significant beneficial effects on mood. these results may be useful for future public health recommendations, especially among young adults and children. further studies with larger sample sizes and longer experimental durations are needed to confirm and generalise these findings. keywords: mood improvement, cognitive, hibiscus, saudi arabia, adults downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-10-31 issue vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com development sangyod rice protein-based formula for cow milk allergic infant and its gut microbiota modulation | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 / research articles development sangyod rice protein-based formula for cow milk allergic infant and its gut microbiota modulation authors mareeya madtohsoh functional food and nutrition program, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla, 90110, thailand preeyabhorn detarun center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, functional food and nutrition program, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla, 90110, thailand santad wichienchot center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, functional food and nutrition program, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla, 90110, thailand doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i7.943 abstract background: in thailand, cow milk allergies are the leading food allergy in infants. rice protein is one of the hypoallergenic food ingredients used as an alternative plant-based protein in nutritional products. sangyod rice (oryza sativa, l., var. indica), found in southern thailand, has been reported to contain a high content of nutrients. isomaltooligosaccharides (imo) are accepted as prebiotics and are applicable as food ingredients to enhance the physiochemical quality of foods as a sweetener, and can also have physiological functions including the enhancement of gut microflora. the supplementation of formulas with prebiotics will support a mature immune system and intestinal colonization of infants.  objectives: this research aimed to develop sangyod rice protein-based infant formula for cow milk allergic infants, evaluated its nutritional composition, sensory, and anti-allergenic activity, and investigated the effects of the formula on gut microbiota modulation.  materials and methods: the development of infant formula based on sangyod rice protein and fortified with imo from sangyod rice flour was studied on nutrition composition, microbiology, anti-allergenic activity, and effect on gut microbiota. these properties reflect quality and safety to meet requirements of infant and follow-up formula. results:the energy of sangyod rice-protein-based formula was 67 kcal per 100 ml. the results indicated that the formula met the requirements of macronutrients providing 3.03 g of protein, 4.37 g of fat, and 13.26 g of carbohydrate, and passed on total bacteria contamination. surprisingly, the developed formulas showed higher results in an anti-allergenic activity test (86.98±5.49%) by inhibition on the release of β-hexosaminidase enzyme in rbl-2h3 cells compared to a commercial hypoallergenic formula. the addition of prebiotic (imo) significantly increased populations of lactobacillus (10.7 log cell/ml) within 24 hours (p<0.05) compared with commercial product. this result affected the production of shot chain fatty acids (scfas) by increasing the amount of acetic acid and propionic acid but had no effect on lactic acid and butyric acid production. this result may have a beneficial effect on the immune system and hopefully can help to prevent or decrease risk of cow milk allergy. the sensory evaluation of sangyod rice protein-based formula showed the highest scores in test (6.34±1.39), odor (6.74±1.15), and overall acceptability (6.52±1.26), but had no significant differences (p<0.05) compared to commercial hypoallergenic formula. conclusion: the sangyod rice protein-based formula can compete and was acceptable for the hypoallergenic formula and would be an option for substituting cow milk in the treatment of cow milk protein allergy. however, this study is the first step to develop the hypoallergenic formula and still needs the preclinical testing and clinical study in the future to claim as a hypoallergenic formula.  keywords: sangyod rice, infant formula, rice protein-based formula, hypoallergenic formula downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-07-28 issue vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com evaluation of dietary intake and food patterns of adolescent girls in sistan and baluchistan province, iran | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 3 (2012): march 2012 / research articles evaluation of dietary intake and food patterns of adolescent girls in sistan and baluchistan province, iran authors farzaneh montazerifar departments of nutrition, school of medicine, research center for health promotion and social development, zahedan university of medical sciences, zahedan mansour karajibani departments of nutrition, school of medicine, research center for health promotion and social development, zahedan university of medical sciences, zahedan ali reza dashipour departments of nutrition, school of medicine, zahedan university of medical sciences, zahedan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i3.98 abstract background: the evidence suggests a relationship between lifestyle and diet-related risk factors. objective: this study assessed the dietary intake and habits of high school girls in sistan and bluchistan province, in southeastern iran. methods: in a cross-sectional, descriptive study, 753 high school girls aged 14-18 years old wereenrolled by a clustered random sampling method. dietary intake and food habits were evaluated by a two-day, 24-hour dietary recall, and a food frequency questionnaire (ffq). results: the analysis of dietary intakes showed that energy, calcium, zinc, vitamin c and folate intake, compared to the dietary reference intake (dri), were found to be lower. the, infrequent intake of milk and dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and a high consumption of empty calorie foods e.g. salty snacks, sweets, soft drinks and junk foods were seen among adolescents. conclusions: the adolescent girls had an improper dietary intake and food habits. thus, the implementation of nutrition education programs in schools and the designing of proper patterns towards healthier food choices could help improve eating behaviors, the health maintenance of adolescents, and also prevent dietrelated diseases in adulthood. key words: adolescent girls, dietary intake, food habits downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-03-31 issue vol. 2 no. 3 (2012): march 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the enhancing effect of γ-cyclodextrin inclusion on γ-tocotrienol-dependent negative growth control of mesothelioma cells in a xenograft model | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 / short report the enhancing effect of γ-cyclodextrin inclusion on γ-tocotrienol-dependent negative growth control of mesothelioma cells in a xenograft model authors t. yano research group of nutritional sciences, faculty of life sciences, toyo university, gunma, 374-0193 a. sato research group of nutritional sciences, faculty of life sciences, toyo university, gunma, 374-0193 m. sekine research group of nutritional sciences, faculty of life sciences, toyo university, gunma, 374-0193 k. kashiwagi department of experimental pathology, yokohama city university graduate school of medicine, kanagawa, 315-0345 m. ota research group of nutritional sciences, faculty of life sciences, toyo university, gunma, 374-0193 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i12.110 abstract background: malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with no effective treatment options. of phytochemicals, tocotrienol (t3), a member of vitamin e, is one of the most potent anti-mesothelioma agents, but the effectiveness in vivo is quite limited, due to its low bioavailability. in this study, we investigated if the oral treatment of γ-t3 inclusion with γ-cyclodextrin (cd) could improve the bioavailability and anticancer activity of the t3. findings: using nude mice bearing msto-211h cells (a human malignant mesothelioma cell line), the effect of γ-t3 inclusion with γ-cd on γ-t3 level in tumor tissues, tumor growth, and its related mrna levels were examined. the difference of tumor growth between the two groups had no statistical significance, but the latter showed a lower tendency compared with the former. in linked with this observation, the level of vascular endothelial growth factor mrna required for in vivo tumor growth in γ-t3 inclusion with γ-cd group was lower than that in γ-t3 group, on the contrary, the level of γ-t3 level showed an opposite tendency. conclusion: our study demonstrated that the bioavailability of γ-t3 was improved by an oral administration of a novel γ-t3 inclusion complex with cd. furthermore, the improvement of the bioavailability contributed to the increase of anticancer activity of γ-t3 in vivo. keywords: anti-cancer agent, bioavailability, cyclodextrin, mesothelioma, tocotrienol. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-12-30 issue vol. 1 no. 12 (2011): december 2011 section short report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of low lactose mare's milk yogurt consumption on gut microbiota function | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 / research articles effects of low lactose mare's milk yogurt consumption on gut microbiota function authors kozhakhmetov samat national laboratory astana, nazarbayev university, nur-sultan, z05h0p9, kazakhstan. innovative center artscience, nur-sultan, z00t3x6, kazakhstan. muhanbetganov nurislam n/a pernebek zhanel n/a babenko dmitriy n/a tarzhanova dinar n/a uyzbaeva indira n/a khassenbekova zhanagul n/a zhantureyeva akmaral n/a jarmukhanov zharkyn n/a kozhakhmetova saniya n/a tultabayeva tamara n/a kushugulova almagul n/a doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i8.981 abstract background: this study shows that the intake of low-lactose yogurt with the addition of mare's milk can affect the composition, biodiversity, and functional potential of the intestinal microflora. purpose of the study: to study the effect of low-lactose drinking yogurt from a combination of mare's and cow's milk on the composition and functional repertoire of the fecal microbiota of rats. methods: the study of the effect of low-lactose drinking yogurt from a combination of mare's and cow's milk on the intestinal microflora was carried out by dietary intervention for 4 weeks. changes in the fecal microbiota were determined using v1-v3 sequencing of the hypervariable target region of the 16s rrna gene. functional prediction was carried out on the basis of the taxonomic structure of the amplicon sequence. results: the results demonstrated a decrease in overall biodiversity both within the samples and between groups of animals. discriminatory analysis revealed an increase in the relative content of ruminococcaceae, peptostreptococcaceae, indeterminate taxon at phylum level, prevotellaceae and a decrease in helicobacteraceae, eubacteriumcoprostanoligenes group, muribaculaceae, lachnospiraceae, lactobacillaceae. in addition, changes in the microbial structure also affected the predicted functional repertoire of the gut microbiota. conclusion: these results demonstrate the consumption of low-lactose drinking yogurt from a combination of mare's and cow's milk, for a short time, can affect the composition and functional repertoire of the fecal microbiota.  keywords: gut microbiome, rats, low-lactose yogurt, microbial diversity, functional repertoire. downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-08-16 issue vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-ulcer activity of ipomoea batatas tubers (sweet potato) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 3 (2012): march 2012 / research articles anti-ulcer activity of ipomoea batatas tubers (sweet potato) authors vandana panda department of pharmacology & toxicology, prin. k. m. kundnani college of pharmacy, jote joy building, rambhau salgaonkar marg , cuffe parade, colaba, mumbai 400005 madhav sonkamble department of pharmacology & toxicology, prin. k. m. kundnani college of pharmacy, jote joy building, rambhau salgaonkar marg , cuffe parade, colaba, mumbai 400005 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i3.99 abstract background: peptic ulcers occur in that part of the gastrointestinal tract which is exposed to gastric acid and pepsin, i.e., the stomach and duodenum. gastric and duodenal ulcers are common pathologies that may be induced by a variety of factors such as stress, smoking and noxious agents including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. ipomoea batatas tubers (sweet potato) contain ample amounts of antioxidants. it has been proven already by many scientific studies that antioxidants have ulcer healing properties. in reference to this, we tried assessing the ulcer healing effect of ipomoea batatas tubers. methods: the anti-ulcer activity of the tubers of ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) was studied in cold stress and aspirin-induced gastric ulcers in wistar rats. methanolic extracts of ipomoea batatas tubers (te) at two doses, viz., 400 and 800 mg /kg were evaluated in cold stress and aspirin-induced gastric ulcer models using cimetidine and omeprazole respectively as standards. the standard drugs and the test drugs were administered orally for 7 days in the cold stress model and for 1 day in the aspirin-induced gastric ulcer model. gastroprotective potential, status of the antioxidant enzymes {superoxide dismutase (sod), catalase (cat), glutathione peroxidase (gpx) and glutathione reductase(gr)} along with gsh, and lipid peroxidation were studied in both models. results: the results of the present study showed that te possessed gastroprotective activity as evidenced by its significant inhibition of mean ulcer score and ulcer index and a marked increase in gsh, sod, cat, gpx, and gr levels and reduction in lipid peroxidation in a dose dependant manner. conclusion: the present experimental findings suggest that tubers of ipomoea batatas may be useful for treating peptic ulcers. key words: sweet potato tubers, cold stress, aspirin, ulcer, antioxidants. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-03-31 issue vol. 2 no. 3 (2012): march 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com breast cancer prevention with morinda citrifolia (noni) at the initiation stage | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 / research articles breast cancer prevention with morinda citrifolia (noni) at the initiation stage authors mian-ying wang department of pathology, university of illinois college of medicine, rockford, il 61107 lin peng department of pathology, university of illinois college of medicine, rockford, il 61107 gary anderson department of pathology, university of illinois college of medicine, rockford, il 61107 diane nowicki department of pathology, university of illinois college of medicine, rockford, il 61107 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i6.53 abstract background: it has been reported that noni has multiple health benefits for over 2000 years. in this study, the cancer preventive effects of tahitian noni® juice (tnj) at the initiation stage on dmba-induced mammary tumorigenesis in female sd rats was investigated. objective: we took advantage of the dmba-induced mammary carcinogenic model to study the preventive effects of tnj at the initiation stage of mammary carcinogenesis in female sd rats by using clinical observation, pathological examination, and 32p-postlabeling assay. methods: one hundred and sixty female sd rats were divided into eight groups with 20 rats in each group. three doses of tnj or placebo was given to the animals at the age of 35 days until the end of the experiment. when the animals were 55 days old, 25 mg/kg dmba was fed to the animals in the dmba group, placebo, and tnj groups. the 20 rats were kept at age-matched controls. palpable tumors were examined twice a week after dmba administration in each group by an experienced professional. the size of tumor was measured by a graduated caliper. a piece of tumor, vascularization area, and mammary glands in the thoracic and abdomen areas of each rat were dissected respectively and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for light microscope examination. the dmba-dna adduct formation in mammary tissues was detected by 32p-postlabeling assay. results: the tumor latency in tnj groups was delayed about 60-90 days when compared with positive controls. the number of palpable tumors per group was significantly reduced by 73%, 72% and 80% in 3%, 5%, and 10% tnj groups respectively when compared with positive controls at the end of 330 days after dmba administration. the number of palpable tumors in the placebo groups was slightly reduced in the early stage, but much less than that in the tnj groups. the multiplicity and malignancy of lesions were significantly reduced and the survival rate of animals in the tnj groups was significantly increased compared with positive controls at different time points. histological examination showed that the malignancy of lesions in tnj groups did not show a significant change when compared with that in positive and placebo groups. conclusion: in conclusion, this is the first study which indicates that tnj possesses a cancer preventive effect at the initiation stage of chemical carcinogenesis induced by dmba in female sd rates. key words: morinda citrifolia, tahitian noni® juice, breast cancer, cancer prevention downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-06-21 issue vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com preclinical study of goat milk kefir as an antihyperglycemic food | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 / research articles preclinical study of goat milk kefir as an antihyperglycemic food authors siti susanti food technology, department of agriculture, faculty of animal sciences and agriculture, diponegoro university, semarang, indonesia nurwantoro nurwantoro food technology, department of agriculture, faculty of animal sciences and agriculture, diponegoro university, semarang, indonesia jessen juan elto food technology, department of agriculture, faculty of animal sciences and agriculture, diponegoro university, semarang, indonesia trilaksana nugroho faculty of medicine, diponegoro university, semarang, indonesia ade erma suryani research center for food technology and processing-national research and innovation agenc heni rizqiati food technology, department of agriculture, faculty of animal sciences and agriculture, diponegoro university, semarang, indonesia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i12.987 abstract background: goat milk kefir is a functional food with numerous health benefits, including blood sugar control, cholesterol reduction, and improved digestive health. this study aims to determine the effect of kefir consumption on blood glucose levels in hyperglycaemic mice (mus musculus) without affecting another blood chemistry.  this study compared goat milk kefir products to other processed milk products considered to be capable of controlling and reducing blood sugar levels.  objective:this study aimed to compare goat milk kefir products to other processed food products considered to be capable of controlling and reducing blood sugar levels. methods: twenty-one mice, as experimental animals, were induced for 21 days with the high-fat and high fructose diet to increase blood sugar levels. after induction, mice were divided into 3 groups according to treatment, namely oral administration of additional distilled water (placebo), diabetasol® (positive control), and goat's milk kefir with each group consisting of 9 individuals.  results: treatment showed significant effect on the blood glucose and β-ketone level. diabetasol®  and goat kefir supplemented mice had a lower blood glucose level than control (p < 0.05) and goat kefir supplemented mice had lower blood β-ketone level than control and diabetasol® (p< 0.05). meanwhile, hematocrit and hemoglobin levels did not show significant differences between treatments. conclusion: the results suggested that goat milk kefir has preclinical potential as an antihyperglycemic functional food without affecting other blood chemistry profiles. keywords: antihyperglycemic, blood sugar, goat kefir downloads abstract [full article] published 2022-12-08 issue vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of vitamin d deficiency state on oxidized low-density lipoprotein alteration in patients with type 2 diabetes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 / research articles the effect of vitamin d deficiency state on oxidized low-density lipoprotein alteration in patients with type 2 diabetes authors salome sadat salehi sahar karimpour soghra rabizadeh alireza esteghamati armin rajab sousan sadat salehi manouchehr nakhjavani endocrinology and metabolism research center (emrc), vali-asr hospital, imam khomeini hospital complex, tehran university of medical sciences, tehran, iran hossein mirmiranpour doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i8.815 abstract introduction: the aim of this study was to compare oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxldl) and blood glucose in very low and low levels of vitamin d. methods: a total of 25 type-2 diabetic patients with very low serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin d (severe deficiency – <10 ng/ml); and 25 type-2 diabetic patients with low serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin d (deficient – 10 to 30 ng/ml) were recruited in this cross-sectional study. fasting plasma glucose (fbs), postprandial glucose (ppg), hba1c, oxldl, and high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-crp) were measured. diagnostic accuracies were determined by receiver-operating characteristic (roc) curve analysis and measuring the area under the curve (auc). results: patients with severe vitamin d deficiency had higher fbs, ppg, hba1c, and oxldl than the vitamin d deficient group (p<0.05). we showed that the auc of fbs, ppg, hba1c, and oxldl were in the range of 0.7-0.9, which indicates moderate accuracies in differentiating severe vitamin d deficiency from deficiency condition. conclusion: in conclusion, diabetic patients with severe vitamin d deficiency had higher fbs, ppg, and oxldl levels compared with deficient ones. roc curve analysis of fbs, ppg, hba1c, and oxldl showed these markers are independent predictors of severe vitamin d deficiency and significantly discriminate between very low and low levels of vitamin d deficiency in patients with diabetes.  keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus. vitamin d deficiency. oxldl. fasting blood glucose.   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-08-13 issue vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of an oral probiotic formula on scalp and facial skin condition, glucose, and lipid metabolism | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 / research articles effect of an oral probiotic formula on scalp and facial skin condition, glucose, and lipid metabolism authors peng yu west china hospital of sichuan university xiaoyue teng harbin institute of technology tingzhu liu memoo (beijing) technology co. ltd. yuhan li memoo (beijing) technology co. ltd. jiayi ni sprim (china) consulting co. ltd. siliang xue west china hospital of sichuan university juan wang memoo (beijing) technology co. ltd. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i7.944 abstract objective: we conducted this study to explore the effect of oral probiotic supplementation on hair density as a primary outcome in subjects with hair loss and at high risk of metabolic syndrome. the secondary objectives were to assess probiotic effects on skin barrier function,metabolic health and stress responses. methods: we supplemented the diets of chinese adults presenting with hair loss and high risk of metabolic syndrome (n = 26, male gender 38.5%, age = 33.6 ± 4.5 years) with a multi-strain probiotic formula at a dosage of 18.1 billion colony forming units (cfu) twice daily for 12 weeks. we compared the hair density, hair loss, anthropometrics measures, blood biochemistry markers, skin biophysical characteristics and stress-associated responses between baseline and the end of the trial. results: after 12 weeks of probiotic supplementation, 96.2% of the study participants had improvement in hair density (median density level increased: 1; interquartile range: 1-2). participants reported reduced hair loss both quantitatively and qualitatively. the majority (73.1%) of the participants reported apparent relief of scalp itching. stratum corneum hydration and ph increased, while transepidermal water loss and sebum decreased on both scalp and facial skin. body weight and body mass index decreased following probiotic consumption. most components of glucose metabolism and the lipid profile were significantly better, with increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and reductions in glucose, homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance, total cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides. inflammation and oxidative stress markers improved with increases in interferon-γ and superoxide dismutase, and reductions in high-sensitivity c-reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin-31 and malondialdehyde. no changes were observed in glycated hemoglobin, insulin, immunoglobulin e and interleukin-10 levels. besides, perceived stress relieved in participants accompanied with improved sleep quality as well as better overall perception of life quality and health. conclusion: twice-daily supplementation with the test probiotic formula over a 12-weeks period may exert profound beneficial effects on hair growth, skin condition, glucose and lipid metabolism, and stress-associated psychological and physiological responses in participants presenting with hair loss and high risk of metabolic syndrome. this study has been registered at chinese clinical trial registry (chictr2100050498). keywords: hair density, hair loss, metabolic syndrome, oral probiotic supplementation author biographies peng yu, west china hospital of sichuan university department of dermatology xiaoyue teng, harbin institute of technology school of chemistry and chemical engineering siliang xue, west china hospital of sichuan university department of dermatology downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-07-28 issue vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com an open-label, randomized clinical trial to assess the immunomodulatory activity of a novel oligosaccharide compound in healthy adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 7 (2012): july 2012 / research articles an open-label, randomized clinical trial to assess the immunomodulatory activity of a novel oligosaccharide compound in healthy adults authors karriem h. ali pharmacognosia, p.o. box 971, rainier, wa 98576 angelica b. melillo department of psychiatry & behavioral sciences at university of miami miller school of medicine, 1120 nw 14th street, miami, fl 33136 susanna m. leonard department of psychiatry & behavioral sciences at university of miami miller school of medicine, 1120 nw 14th street, miami, fl 33136 deshratn asthana department of psychiatry & behavioral sciences at university of miami miller school of medicine, 1120 nw 14th street, miami, fl 33136 judi m. woolger department of medicine at university of miami miller school of medicine, 1120 nw 14th street, miami, fl 33136 aaron h. wolfson department of radiation oncology at university of miami miller school of medicine, 1120 nw 14th street, miami, fl 33136 h. mcdaniel fisher institute for medical research, 2701 osler dr suite 6b grand prairie, tx 75051 john e. lewis department of psychiatry & behavioral sciences at university of miami miller school of medicine, 1120 nw 14th street, miami, fl 33136 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i7.84 abstract background: rice bran arabinoxylan compound (rbac) is a nutritional supplement produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of hemicellulose b derived from rice bran. several in vitro studies and clinical reports have shown rbac to possess promising immunomodulating effects, specifically with respect to natural killer cell and cytokine activity. the concept of a true immunomodulator is an agent possessing a broad range of activity dependent upon the existing state of health and immunity in the individual host. the present study investigated the immunomodulatory effect of rbac in a healthy adult human population over 60 days by assessing changes in natural killer cell cytotoxicity (nkcc) and cytokines and growth factors. subjects participated in a two-group, randomized intervention, where one group (n=10) consumed 1 gram/day and the other (n=10) consumed 3 gram/day. safety and tolerability of rbac were assessed with total bilirubin, total protein, creatinine, and liver function tests. results: we found that both groups had similar responses for nkcc, cytokines, and growth factors. the nkcc peaked at 1 week, whereas interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukins-1α, -1β, -8, and -10, and epidermal growth factor peaked at 30 days. all subjects tolerated the supplement without any adverse reactions. conclusions: our results showed transient, bi-directional, immune marker effects consistent with true, multifactorial immunomodulation rather than simply immunostimulation or immunosuppression. given our findings, the immunomodulatory activity of rbac merits study in conditions where the immune system is functionally compromised (e.g., otherwise-healthy smokers and hiv/aids or cancer patients). rbac may not only help to destroy tumor cells and viruses directly, but also increase the activity of immune cells, thereby optimizing the immune system, especially nkcc, which can increase the chance and speed of host recovery. keywords: rice bran, arabinoxylan compound, activity of immune cells, immunomodulation, hiv/aids, and cancer downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-07-28 issue vol. 2 no. 7 (2012): july 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional food availability, a limitation to peoples’ health on islands | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 7 (2011): july 2011 / research articles functional food availability, a limitation to peoples’ health on islands authors rameshwar kramadhati saint james school of medicine, plaza juliana 4, kralendijk, bonaire tuyetha dinh saint james school of medicine, plaza juliana 4, kralendijk, bonaire judith mekamkwe saint james school of medicine, plaza juliana 4, kralendijk, bonaire patrick ndungu saint james school of medicine, plaza juliana 4, kralendijk, bonaire erick nguyen saint james school of medicine, plaza juliana 4, kralendijk, bonaire doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i7.128 abstract background: all foods are imported to markets in smaller islands in the caribbean. before export of foods to these destinations, the foods are subjected to several preservative procedures like irradiation, pesticide spray and prolonged refrigeration etc., to last the extended transport periods. this reduces availability of protective elements and the nutrient contents of the foods to scanty levels, especially to common people with low and middle incomes. hence the majority of people in these categories on the small islands become vulnerable to ill health. aims and objectives: to assess 1. food availability 2. normal transport period for foods to reach from the suppliers, and 3. current level of prevalence of non-infective chronic diseases in the area. methods: data were collected from two sources. one set of data was collected from the three supermarkets on the island to obtain information on source, transport time and nature of foods imported; and the second from 200 randomly selected responses of diseased persons for information on the age, gender and cause of death. results: all the foods were imported and the time taken for the food (including protective foods) to reach the island was about 3 weeks. the major causes of death were malignancy (30%), diabetes and its complications (25%), cardio vascular diseases (19.5%), std / hiv (8.5%) and other causes (17.0%). a review of prevalence of chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis and associated functional limitations, in the region reveals that their prevalence is proportionately high on the island compared to nearby developed mainland regions. body mass index of ≥25 was reported to be as high as 58.3%. the health care facilities available are seen to be limited and public health activity to prevent or manage the prevailing chronic health issues, appeared to be meager. conclusion: there is a need to address the problem through public health actions to lower the incidence of the chronic degenerative diseases in the area: 1. educate the community about the ways to improve their nutrition and life styles, 2. make available health and nutrition promoting foods to all the people living in the islands, 3. strengthen health services to tackle chronic degenerative diseases in the region. key words: foods, nutrition, chronic diseases, mortality, protective foods, functional foods downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-07-30 issue vol. 1 no. 7 (2011): july 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com oryza ceramide®, a rice-derived extract consisting of glucosylceramides and β-sitosterol glucoside, improves facial skin dehydration in japanese subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 / research articles oryza ceramide®, a rice-derived extract consisting of glucosylceramides and β-sitosterol glucoside, improves facial skin dehydration in japanese subjects authors tsuyoshi takara kazuo yamamoto naoko suzuki shinichiro yamashita shin-ichiro iio hayata noguchi toshihiro kakinuma asami baba shogo takeda wakana yamada sarita shrestha yoshiaki manse toshio morikawa hiroshi shimoda oryza oil & fat chemical co., ltd. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i8.809 abstract background and objective: the ingestion of plant-derived glucosylceramides (glccer) has been reported to contribute to skin barrier function and hydration of the epidermis. b-sitosterol glucoside (bsg) colocalized with glccer in the rice hydrophobic fraction has been shown to increase ceramides in the stratum corneum in vitro. although clinical studies demonstrated that glccer reduced transepidermal water loss (tewl), the contribution of bsg to epidermal dehydration when applied with glccer remains unknown. therefore, we herein conducted a clinical trial on the effects of a rice-derived mixed fraction of glccer and bsg (oryza ceramide®) on tewl and other skin parameters.  methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study design was used. oryza ceramide® (type pcd, 40 mg daily) containing 1.2 mg of glccer and 40 mg of bsg was used as the active sample. we enrolled 44 healthy japanese women with epidermal dehydration. all subjects were randomly allocated to an active group (n=22) or placebo group (n=22) using a computerized random number generator. capsules containing the active sample or placebo were administered for 12 weeks between august and december 2020. cheek tewl after 12 weeks was assessed as the primary outcome, and tewl on a different part of the skin and various skin parameters, including epidermal moisture, pigmentation, pores, and elasticity, were measured before and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of the intervention. blood, urine, and body parameters were also examined to evaluate safety. results: forty-four subjects completed the trial, and the per protocol set comprised 22 each in the active and placebo groups. cheek tewl significantly reduced after the oryza ceramide® intervention for 4 and 12 weeks. among the secondary outcomes examined, lip moisture (12 weeks) and visible pore number (4 weeks) were improved by oryza ceramide®. laboratory tests revealed no abnormalities to suggest any adverse effects of oryza ceramide®. conclusions: oryza ceramide® (40 mg/day) consisting of glccer and bsg improved facial tewl, lip moisture, and visible pores, and these effects may be attributed to increases in epidermal ceramides. the combination of rice glccer and bsg appears to be beneficial for improving facial skin conditions. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000041295 foundation: the study was funded by oryza oil & fat chemical co., ltd. and aichi prefectural subsidies for research and development of creative products in 2020. keywords: rice; glucosylceramide; β-sitosterol glucoside; trans epidermal water loss; pore   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-08-31 issue vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com novel elisa technology in assessing undenatured type ii collagen in functional foods and dietary supplements used for knee joint health care: its sensitivity, precision, and accuracy | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 5 (2022): may 2022 / short report novel elisa technology in assessing undenatured type ii collagen in functional foods and dietary supplements used for knee joint health care: its sensitivity, precision, and accuracy authors yoshiaki shiojima ryusendo co., ltd., r&d, 1-5-3 nishi-ikebukuro, toshima-ku, tokyo 1710021, japan hiroyoshi moriyama r&d, ryusendo co., ltd., 1-5-3 nishi-ikebukuro, toshima-ku, tokyo 171-0021, japan megumi takahashi ryusendo co., ltd., 1-5-3 nishi-ikebukuro, toshima-ku, tokyo 171-0021, japan; laboratory of ultrasound theranostics, faculty of pharma sciences, teikyo university, 2-11-1 kaga, itabashi-ku, tokyo 173-8605, japan ryohei takahashi ryusendo co., ltd., 1-5-3 nishi-ikebukuro, toshima-ku, tokyo 171-0021, japan; laboratory of ultrasound theranostics, faculty of pharma sciences, teikyo university, 2-11-1 kaga, itabashi-ku, tokyo 173-8605, japan kazuo maruyama laboratory of ultrasound theranostics, faculty of pharma sciences, teikyo university, 2-11-1 kaga, itabashi-ku, tokyo 173-8605, japan manashi bagchi research & development, dr. herbs llc, 5332 vista point court, concord, ca 94521, usa debasis bagchi college of pharmacy and health sciences, texas southern university, 3100 cleburne street, houston, tx 77004, usa; department of biology, adelphi university, garden city, ny 11530, usa. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i5.933 abstract introduction: undenatured type ii collagen, derived from chicken sternum cartilage, is a novel functional ingredient, which has been demonstrated to improve joint health, flexibility and mobility, and enhancing motor functions. undenatured type ii collagen has been commercially available as functional dietary supplement worldwide for many years. research studies demonstrated its broad-spectrum safety and clinical efficacy. undenatured type ii collagen requires very small amount to exhibit clinical efficacy and hence can be easily consumed over a long period of time as compared to the other joint care functional ingredients such as glucosamine and chondroitin. since undenatured type ii collagen is effective in relatively small amount, its accurate measurement in various dosage forms such as tablets and capsules become crucial to provide consumers optimal cost and joint-health benefits.  objective: in the present study, we modified the previously used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) method to determine the active constituents precisely and accurately in formulations to affirm broad spectrum safety and clinical efficacy.  methods: improved precision elisa methodology was utilized to determine the amount of undenatured type ii collagen extracted from chicken sternum cartilage. a commercially available chondrex collagen detection kit was used to determine the number of epitope (antigenic determinant) sites on the three-dimensional tightly-folded structured collagen. time and temperature were set at ≥16 h or preferably within the range of 16 h to 24 h and at room temperature results: the results obtained from this improved elisa method strongly supported the accuracy and validity, which correlates very well with the results of our earlier clinical studies, revealing the efficacy of undenatured type ii collagen concentrations used. furthermore, the modified elisa method, designed by our team, revealed consistent and reproducible results on the basis of counting the epitope sites in undenatured type ii collagen (next-ii®) of commercial batches conclusion: using this precisely modified elisa method gave 8% of undenatured type ii collagen in next-ii®, resulting in 3.2 mg in 40.0 mg of next-ii®. it also confirmed that administration of 3.2 mg of undenatured type ii collagen a day, both in open-label and randomized clinical trials, was safe and efficacious for joint pain, flexibility and mobility, and motor function.   keywords: undenatured type ii collagen, next-ii®, elisa method, pepsin downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-05-13 issue vol. 12 no. 5 (2022): may 2022 section short report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com chemometric analysis of ketogenic diet formulated from low-cost dietary fibers | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 / research articles chemometric analysis of ketogenic diet formulated from low-cost dietary fibers authors omowumi titilola kayode mountain top university https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5831-3558 abolanle a.a kayode babcock university teniola oyebode landmark university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i1.857 abstract background: ketogenic diet (kd) is a beneficial nutritional plan consisting of low carbohydrate, high fat, and moderate protein levels and aids in amelioration of some metabolic disorders. the objective of this study is to develop a ketogenic diet model using cheap and readily available fiber sources.  methods: cabbage head and coconut fruits were obtained and processed into fiber and ketogenic diet chow. they were further analyzed using standard methods for proximate, mineral, and heavy metals, phytochemicals, and dpph radical scavenging assay. results: carbohydrate content of the samples were (3.35, 4.00, 3.16 and 2.08%) for cabbage feed, coconut feed, coconut fiber, and cabbage fibers, respectively. this conforms to the maximal 4% carbohydrate required for ketogenic diet daily allowable limit. other nutrients such as lipids and proteins were in high and moderate amounts respectively. phytochemicals were also present in varied proportions in the samples.  conclusion: the developed cabbage and coconut fiber is an appropriate fiber source for ketogenic diet preparation. they are rich in nutrients based on their mineral content. they may be positioned as a nutraceutical for therapeutic and disease prevention action due to their inherent bioactive chemicals and radical scavenging activity. they may pose negligible toxicity risks as the few detected heavy metals are within permissible limits.  keywords: fibers, ketogenic diet, cabbage, coconut, chemical analysis, and antioxidant   author biographies omowumi titilola kayode, mountain top university department of biological sciences.   senior lecturer abolanle a.a kayode, babcock university biochemistry department downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-01-31 issue vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of 12 weeks of continuous burdock sprout extract intake on oxidized ldl: a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-groups study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 / research articles effect of 12 weeks of continuous burdock sprout extract intake on oxidized ldl: a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-groups study authors naohito ito hokkaido information university akiko ohno r&d innovation group, corporate planning division, kracie holdings satoshi yomoda r&d innovation group, corporate planning division, kracie holdings satoshi inamasu r&d innovation group, corporate planning division, kracie holdings hiroki hattori hokkaido information university jun nishihira hokkaido information university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i9.820 abstract background: arctigenin, a lignan polyphenol found in burdock sprout, is a potent activator of amp-activated protein kinase (ampk) and has beneficial effects on metabolic disorders in mice. this highlights the potential value of arctigenin for the reduction of oxidized ldl (oxldl) by activation of ampk in human, but not well elucidated. methods: we conducted a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-groups study in healthy adults to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of a continuous intake of burdock sprout extract enriched with arctigenin on lipid metabolism. the subjects were 100 japanese individuals with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c) < 140 mg/dl and a body mass index (bmi) of 23–30 kg/m2 who were randomly assigned to receive either burdock sprout extract (test food) or a placebo. the test food was encapsulated burdock sprout extract containing approximately 40 mg of arctigenin equivalent per day, and the placebo capsules contained no burdock sprout extract. the subjects consumed the assigned foods daily for 12 weeks. results: the test food significantly suppressed oxldl after 12 weeks in subjects with a body mass index (bmi) of 25 kg/m2 or higher. the test food inhibited an increase in the fib-4 index (liver fibrosis index), an indicator of hepatic fibrosis. pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis revealed a significant correlation between oxldl and fib-4 index changes, suggesting that the test food suppressed the rise in the fib-4 index by controlling oxldl while maintaining the platelet count. conclusions: we conclude that the consumption of a burdock sprout supplement containing arctigenin is effective in suppressing oxldl, which may prevent liver fibrosis. clinical trial registration: umin000036664 keywords: arctigenin, burdock sprout, oxidized ldl, fib-4 index, randomized controlled study author biography jun nishihira, hokkaido information university president, professor downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-09-08 issue vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com metabolic syndrome among obese patients attending the medical clinics of the three teaching hospitals at sana’s city, yemen | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 6 (2011): june 2011 / research articles metabolic syndrome among obese patients attending the medical clinics of the three teaching hospitals at sana’s city, yemen authors mohammed a. bamashmoos internal medicine department, faculty of medicine and health sciences, sana’a university abdul w. al serouri community medicine department, faculty of medicine and health sciences, sana’a university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i6.129 abstract background: yemen faces major challenges in improving the health status of its population as it is entering an epidemiological transition with rising non-communicable diseases e.g. obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (cvds). we designed this study to find out the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (ms) and its components among obese yemeni patients. methods: all obese (waist circumference >102 cm (40 inch) in male and >88 cm (35 inch) in female) attending the outpatients medical clinics at the three teaching hospitals in sana'a city, were examined and their blood pressure (bp), fasting samples of plasma glucose, triglycerides, and hdl cholesterol were measured. the prevalence of ms obtained based on the adult treatment panel iii and presence of at least 3 of the following: systolic bp ≥130 mm hg and/or diastolic bp ≥ 85 mm hg or on treatment for high bp, fasting glucose ≥110 mg/dl or on diabetes treatment, triglycerides ≥150 mg/dl, and hdl cholesterol <40 mg/dl in men and <50 mg/dl in women. results: 200 obese were identified during study period with an overall ms prevalence of 46%. the metabolic co-morbidities were raised bp (68%), high triglycerides (66%), reduced high density lipoprotein (64%), and raised fasting blood glucose (40%). conclusion: prevalence of ms is high among obese yemeni patients and high bp was the commonest co-morbidity. these findings highlight an urgent need to develop strategies for prevention, detection, and treatment of ms that could contribute to decreasing the rising incidence of cvd and diabetes. keywords: metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, yemen. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-06-29 issue vol. 1 no. 6 (2011): june 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com characterization and functional properties of new everbearing strawberry (fragaria x ananasa duch.) cultivar, ‘summertiara’ berries | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 1 (2014): january 2014 / research articles characterization and functional properties of new everbearing strawberry (fragaria x ananasa duch.) cultivar, ‘summertiara’ berries authors takeshi nagai graduate school of agricultural sciences, yamagata university, yamagata 9978555 misuzu tamai yamagata university, yamagata 9978555 masato sato the farm village industry federation of ja kushibiki agricultural cooperatives, yamagata 9970341 yasuhiro tanoue national fisheries university, yamaguchi 7596595, japan; 7nagoya research institute, aichi 4701131 norihisa kai national fisheries university, yamaguchi 7596595, japan; 7nagoya research institute, aichi 4701131 nobutaka suzuki nagoya research institute, aichi 4701131 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i1.27 abstract background: in recent years, a new everbearing strawberry cultivar, ‘summertiara’ was cultivated to supply the strawberries in pre-harvest season from july to october in japan. for highly research and development of processing of this cultivar, ‘summertiara’ berries, the objective of this study was to characterize these berries, with relation to chemical parameters, total phenols, total flavonoids, total vitamin c, and total anthocyanins, and was to investigate the solubility and the stability of anthocyanins from the berries. moreover, the functional properties such as antioxidative activity, active oxygen species scavenging activity, and antihypertensive activity were also evaluated. methods: chemical analysis, colour measurement, and sensory evaluation of new everbearing strawberry cultivar, ‘summertiara’ berries were performed. next, the solubility of anthocyanins from the berries and stability of these against ph, temperature, and an incandescent lighting were investigated. moreover, functional properties of the extracts prepared from berries were elucidated using 5 different methods. results: the contents of water, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and ash were the same as those of other cultivar berries. the sugar-acid ratio in the berries was low; these were acidulous. by sensory evaluation, the main factors were vivid red colour, aroma, and acidity. the berries were rich in phenols, flavonoids, vitamin c, and anthocyanins. the anthocyanins of the berries became unstable by heat treatment and light exposures such as visible rays. on the other hand, the extracts prepared from the berries showed the functionalities such as antioxidant activity, active oxygen species scavenging activities, and antihypertensive activity.   conclusions: the strawberry cultivar, ‘summertiara’ berries were the most suitable for processing ingredient of strawberry-derived products with superior health promoting functionalities. keywords: summertiara, everbearing strawberry cultivar, characterization, sensory evaluation, color and storage, functional property downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-01-24 issue vol. 4 no. 1 (2014): january 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com flavonoids and phenolic acids from pearl millet (pennisetum glaucum) based foods and their functional implications | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 7 (2012): july 2012 / research articles flavonoids and phenolic acids from pearl millet (pennisetum glaucum) based foods and their functional implications authors vanisha s. nambiar department of foods and nutrition, a who collaborating center for promoting health and nutrition, faculty of family and community sciences, the m s university of baroda, vadodara, gujarat, 390002 neha sareen department of foods and nutrition, a who collaborating center for promoting health and nutrition, faculty of family and community sciences, the m s university of baroda, vadodara, gujarat, 390002 mammen daniel division of phytochemistry, department of botany, faculty of science, the ms university of baroda, vadodara, gujarat, 390002 erick b. gallego harvest plus, c/o ifpri/ciat, 2033 k street, nw, washington, dc 20006 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i7.85 abstract background: pearl millet (pennisetum glaucum), considered a poor man’s cereal, may be a repository of dietary antioxidants, especially flavonoids and phenolic acids, which provide bioactive mechanisms to reduce free radical induced oxidative stress and probably play a role in the prevention of ageing and various diseases associated with oxidative stress, such as cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases. objective: the present study focused on the identification of individual flavonoids and phenolic acids from seven commercial varieties of pearl millet and five samples of pearl millet-based traditional recipes of banaskantha, gujarat, india. methods: total phenols were determined by the folin-ciocalteu method, and individual polyphenol separation included the isolation and identification of (a) flavonoids, (b) phenolic acids, and (c) glycoflavones involving interaction with diagnostic reagents and paper chromatographic separation of compounds and their uv-visible spectroscopic studies including hypsochromic and bathchromic shifts with reagents such as alcl3, alcl3/hcl, naome, naoac, and naoac/h3po3. five traditional recipes consumed in the pearl millet producing belt of banaskantha, gujarat, india, were standardized in the laboratory and analyzed for phenol and individual flavonoids. results: total phenols in raw samples ranged from 268.5 420mg/100g of dw and 247.5 - 335mg/100g of dw in cooked recipes. the commonly identified flavonoids were tricin, acacetin, 3, 4 di-ome luteolin, and 4-ome tricin. five phenolic acids were identified: namely vanilic acid, syringic acid, melilotic acid, para-hydroxyl benzoic acid, and salicylic acid. conclusion: the presence of flavonoids, such as tricin, acacetin, 3, 4 di-ome luteolin, and 4-ome tricin, indicate the chemopreventive efficacy of pearl millet. they may be inversely related to mortality from coronary heart disease and to the incidence of heart attacks in the pearl millet consuming belts of the world. keywords: polyphenols, antioxidant, flavonoids, total phenols, pearl millet (raw and cooked) (pennisetum glaucum), banaskantha, gujarat downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-07-05 issue vol. 2 no. 7 (2012): july 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com activation of the intrinsic-apoptotic pathway in lncap prostate cancer cells by genisteintopotecan combination treatments | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 3 (2013): march 2013 / research articles activation of the intrinsic-apoptotic pathway in lncap prostate cancer cells by genisteintopotecan combination treatments authors vanessa hörmann department of biological sciences, florida atlantic university, davie fl 33314 sivanesan dhandayuthapani rumbaugh goodwin institute for cancer research, nova southeastern university, plantation fl, 33322 james kumi-diaka department of biological sciences, florida atlantic university, davie fl 33314 appu rathinavelu rumbaugh goodwin institute for cancer research, nova southeastern university, plantation fl, 33322 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i3.64 abstract background: prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in american men. the development of alternative preventative and/or treatment options utilizing a combination of phytochemicals and chemotherapeutic drugs could be an attractive alternative compared to conventional carcinoma treatments. genistein isoflavone is the primary dietary phytochemical found in soy and has demonstrated anti-tumor activities in lncap prostate cancer cells. topotecan hydrochloride (hycamtin) is an fda-approved chemotherapy for secondary treatment of lung, ovarian and cervical cancers. the purpose of this study was to detail the potential activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in lncap prostate cancer cells through genistein-topotecan combination treatments. methods: lncap cells were cultured in complete rpmi medium in a monolayer (70-80% confluency) at 37ºc and 5% co2. treatment consisted of single and combination groups of genistein and topotecan for 24 hours. the treated cells were assayed for i) growth inhibition through trypan blue exclusion assay and microphotography, ii) classification of cellular death through acridine/ ethidium bromide fluorescent staining, and iii) activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway through jc-1: mitochondrial membrane potential assay, cytochrome c release and bcl-2 protein expression. results: the overall data indicated that genistein-topotecan combination was significantly more efficacious in reducing the prostate carcinoma’s viability compared to the single treatment options. in all treatment groups, cell death occurred primarily through the activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. conclusion: the combination of topotecan and genistein has the potential to lead to treatment options with equal therapeutic efficiency as traditional chemoand radiation therapies, but lower cell cytotoxicity and fewer side effects in patients. key words: topotecan; genistein; intrinsic apoptotic cell death downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-03-30 issue vol. 3 no. 3 (2013): march 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com screening of less known two food plants for comparison of nutrient contents: iranian and indian vegetables | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 / research articles screening of less known two food plants for comparison of nutrient contents: iranian and indian vegetables authors ali aberoumand department of fisheries, behbahan khatemolanbia technology university, behbahan, khuzestan province doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i10.117 abstract background: greater consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancers. the most important nutrients present in plants are carbohydrates, such as the starch and free sugars, oils, proteins, minerals, ascorbic acid, and the antioxidant phenols. plants are an essential component of the universe. human beings have used those as medicine from the very beginning of time. methods: the proximate composition and mineral constituents of asparagus officinalis stem and momordica dioica fruit were evaluated in order to scientific standard methods of association for official and analytical chemists (aoac). results: the stem contained ashes: 10.70% crude protein: 32.69%, crude lipid: 3.44%, crude fiber: 18.50%, and carbohydrates: 34.67%. stem also have high energy value (384.27kcal/100g) dry weight. mineral ranges (mg/100g dry weight, dw) were: k (10.94), na (1.84), ca (0.67), fe (0.19), and zn (2.60). the fruits contained ashes: 9.1%, crude protein: 5.44%, crude lipid: 3.25%, crude fiber: 22.9%, and carbohydrates: 59.31%. the fruits also have high energy value (288.25kcal/100g) dry weight. mineral ranges (mg/100g dry weight, dw) were: k (4.63), na (1.62), ca (7.37), fe (5.04), and zn (3.83). conclusion: comparing proximate and minerals contents of the stem and the fruit, the results indicated that asparagus officinalis stem could be a good supplement for some nutrients such as protein, lipid, potassium and zinc, fibre and carbohydrates while momordica dioica fruit was good source of lipid, crude fiber, carbohydrates, iron and zinc.  keywords: asparagus officinalis stem; momordica dioica; micronutrients; proximate and mineral composition. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-10-22 issue vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the protective effect of soybean phytochemicals on androgen responsive human prostate cancer cells lncap is likely mediated through modulation of hormone/cytokine-dependent pathways | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 / research articles the protective effect of soybean phytochemicals on androgen responsive human prostate cancer cells lncap is likely mediated through modulation of hormone/cytokine-dependent pathways authors thomas wang usda, ars, bhnrc, diet, genomics, and immunology laboratory, beltsville, md 20854 stephen m. boue usda, southern regional research center, new orleans, la 70124 hari b. krishnan usda, plant genetics research unit, ars, columbia, mo 65211 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i11.113 abstract background: population studies suggested that consumption of a soy rich diet provides protective effects against several chronic diseases, including prostate cancer. however, the active components in soy as well as the mechanisms of action of soy’s protective effects remain unclear. it would be important to elucidate these questions to support the use of soy in the prevention of chronic disease. methods: a cell culture model and molecular techniques were used as tools to identify a molecular signature induced by soy-derived phytochemicals. results: soy phytochemicals inhibit growth of androgen responsive prostate cancer cells. global gene expression analysis using dna microarray and real time pcr analysis identified multiple pathways affected by the soy-derived phytochemicals genistein, daidzein, equol, and glyceollins in the androgen responsive human prostate cancer cell lncap. these pathways included androgen receptor-dependent pathways, insulin-like growth factors pathways, and cell cycle-related pathways. soy-derived phytochemicals modulated these pathways in a concentration-dependent fashion. conclusion: taking into consideration the physiological achievable concentration of diet-derived soy phytochemicals, we propose the concentration-dependent cancer protective effect is likely mediated through modulation of hormone/cytokine-dependent pathways. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-11-30 issue vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com dietary supplementation of fructooligosaccharides reduces hepatic steatosis associated with insulin resistance in obese zucker rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 5 (2011): may 2011 / research articles dietary supplementation of fructooligosaccharides reduces hepatic steatosis associated with insulin resistance in obese zucker rats authors lydia kaume food science department, university of arkansas, 2650 n. young avenue, fayetteville ar, 72704 william gilbert food science department, university of arkansas, 2650 n. young avenue, fayetteville ar, 72704 vidya gadang food science department, university of arkansas, 2650 n. young avenue, fayetteville ar, 72704 latha devareddy food science department, university of arkansas, 2650 n. young avenue, fayetteville ar, 72704 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i5.130 abstract background: one in five adults in the united states is obese as defined by a body mass index of 30 kg/m2. obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome, a combination of medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia. these conditions present challenges to the medical care system and require a multifaceted approach through a variety of interventions. this study investigated the effects of fructooligosaccharides (fos) at the level of 5 % (w/w) in alleviating the complications associated with metabolic syndrome. methods: the study was carried out using thirty-six, three-month old female lean and obese zucker rats housed in an environmentally controlled laboratory. the zucker rats were divided into three groups (n=12): lean (l-ctrl) and obese controls (o-ctrl) and obese-fos (o-fos). the controls received ain-93m purified rodent diet and the animals in the o-fos group were fed ain-93m diet modified to contain 5.0% fos (w/w). after 100 days of treatment, the rats were fasted for 12 hours and sacrificed. tissue and organs of interest, and blood were collected for analysis. serum concentrations of the following were determined: glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (hba1c), total cholesterol (tc), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (ldl-c), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (hdl-c), triglycerides (tg), and insulin. gravimetric quantification of liver lipids was performed and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (ppar-γ) gene expression was determined in white adipose tissue by qrt-pcr. results: no significant differences were observed in the serum lipids, fasting blood glucose, hba1c and ppar-γ gene expression in white adipose tissue of o-fos group compared to o-ctrl group. fos supplementation significantly lowered the percent total liver lipids by 12% with a subsequent reduction in the liver weights compared to o-ctrl rats. serum insulin concentrations were lowered 3.6 fold in o-fos group compared to o-ctrl (p < 0.05).  conclusion: based on these findings we conclude that dietary supplementation of 5% fos (w/w) may reduce hepatic steatosis and the risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (nafld) associated with insulin resistance without changes in blood lipids and glucose levels. key words: dietary fiber, fructooligosaccharide, hepatosteatosis, liver lipids, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (nafld), zucker. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-05-24 issue vol. 1 no. 5 (2011): may 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com marketing strategies for functional food products | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 / review articles marketing strategies for functional food products authors stella chen danik martirosyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i8.817 abstract functional foods are experiencing a growing demand worldwide as consumers seek ways to take control of their health. despite this growing demand, the lack of a standard definition for functional food for formal categorization and regulation results in many functional food products run into hurdles for consumer acceptance, as many people are not familiar with the concept, and scientific evidence that could increase legitimacy of these products is not widely available. of the 15 steps the functional food center has outlined for development of functional food products, marketing a product to educate people is closely related to consumer acceptance and is therefore an important step to study to increase success of functional food products. this review article will focus on recent studies that examine carrier/ingredient combinations, information channels, credibility, and consumer targeting and how they can impact consumer intent to purchase or accept functional foods. these studies build off hypotheses tested in pre-existing studies or bring in novel determinants to consider. finally, advice on marketing based on the results in the included papers and from an industry expert will be discussed. keywords: functional food marketing, carrier/ingredient combinations, perceived fit, information channels, credibility, consumer targeting, advertising, consumer acceptance, purchase intent downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-08-05 issue vol. 11 no. 8 (2021): august 2021 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com proximate composition and sensory attributes of gluten-free pasta made from jackfruit seeds | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 1 (2023): january 2023 / research articles proximate composition and sensory attributes of gluten-free pasta made from jackfruit seeds authors natthaphon thatsanasuwan division of nutrition and dietetics, school of medical sciences, university of phayao, phayao 56000, thailand acharaporn duangjai division of physiology, school of medical sciences, university of phayao, phayao 56000, thailand pannatat suttirak division of nutrition and dietetics, school of medical sciences, university of phayao, phayao , thailand naritsara phanthurat division of nutrition and dietetics, school of medical sciences, university of phayao, phayao , thailand https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7682-2823 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i1.1039 abstract background:pasta is the world’s favourite food, except among those with celiac disease and other gluten sensitivities. jackfruit seeds are a good source of nutrients and are gluten-free. replacing wheat flour with jackfruit seeds in pasta represents a potential alternative food for those with gluten sensitivities. this investigation examined the impact of replacing wheat flour with jackfruit seeds on the proximate composition and sensory assessment of gluten-free fresh pasta (fettuccine).  methods:the pasta was prepared by replacing wheat flour with jackfruit seeds and adding 10% (percentage of rice flour [pjs] 10%), 15% (pjs 15%) or 20% (pjs 20%). the proximate composition and sensory attributes of the pastas were evaluated.  results:the proximate composition of pasta was significantly improved (p < 0.05) when the amount of jackfruit seeds added to the pasta was increased. results showed decreased in energy (152-174 kcal/100g) and carbohydrate (8.2-14.8%), however increased in crude fiber (0.4–0.9%) and ash (1.9–4.7%). the results of a sensory characteristic evaluation with a nine-point hedonic scale showed that pasta made from 100% wheat flour was acceptable to the participants, and the gluten-free fresh pasta was not significantly different. the gluten-free pasta’s colour and texture changed as a result of adding rice flour and replacing the wheat flour with jackfruit seeds. the addition of jackfruit seeds resulted in a reduction in the flavour, cohesiveness, taste, and colour characteristics compared to wheat flour pasta. the pasta that substituted jackfruit seeds and added 15% rice flour scored highly on the sensory analysis.  conclusion:this study showed that fresh gluten-free pasta made from jackfruit seeds can be a tasty and nutritious substitute for regular pasta, with promising potential for food variety, notably for those with celiac disease. clinical trial registration: tctr20220325001 keywords:gluten-free, jackfruit seed, just-about-right, nutrition, pasta downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-01-05 issue vol. 13 no. 1 (2023): january 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com maltose consumption exacerbates high-fat diet-induced overweight and related parameters in mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 / research articles maltose consumption exacerbates high-fat diet-induced overweight and related parameters in mice authors nanaka shibazaki wataru tanaka yusuke suzuki hiroki matsuyama hibiki kubota kenjiro ogawa daigo yokoyama hiroyuki sakakibara university of miyazaki doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i11.997 abstract background: maltose is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose. the amount of maltose in raw sweet potatoes reportedly increased by more than 40-fold after baking. we aimed to investigate the effects of maltose consumption on diet-induced obesity using a mouse model. methods: male c57bl/6j mice were divided into three dietary groups: a control diet of american institute of nutrition (ain)-93 (cd), an ain-93-based 30% high-fat diet (hfd), or an hfd diet containing 7.0% maltose (hfd+mal). after 13 weeks, body mass index, blood glucose, lipid parameters, including total cholesterol and triglyceride, and hepatic fatty acid content were evaluated.  results: after 6 weeks on the special diet, weight gain was significantly higher in the hfd+mal group than in the hfd group. the body mass index rose steadily and was significantly higher in the hfd+mal group (5.03 ± 0.22), compared to the cd (3.32 ± 0.30) and hfd (4.57 ± 0.40) groups at 12 weeks. the relative liver weight per weight was also significantly higher in the hfd+mal group than in the other two groups. the increases in blood glucose levels were more significant in the hfd+mal group compared to the hfd group, as were the plasma levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (hdl)-cholesterol and non-hdl-cholesterol. in the liver, levels of the following fatty acids increased in both the hfd and hfd+mal groups relative to those in the cd group: c14:0 (myristic acid), c16:0 (palmitic acid), c18:0 (stearic acid), c18:1 (oleic acid), c18:2 (linoleic acid) and c18:3 (α-linolenic acid). additionally, the c16:0 content in the hfd+mal group was significantly higher than that in the hfd group.   conclusion: the results of this study suggest that daily consumption of maltose exacerbated the development of obesity and related parameters, including body mass index and plasma cholesterol levels, under the high-fat diet consumption. it is possible that the consumption of maltose-rich cooked sweet potatoes, as part of an overall hfd, might exacerbate hfd-induced overweight. keywords: high-fat diet-induced obesity, maltose, mice, roasting, sweet potato downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-11-22 issue vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of the consumption of proanthocyanidins derived from acacia bark on blood pressure in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparison study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 7 (2021): july 2021 / research articles effects of the consumption of proanthocyanidins derived from acacia bark on blood pressure in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparison study authors asami baba orthomedico inc. tomohiro hoshino orthomedico inc. sosuke ogawa acacia-no-ki co.,ltd. tsuyoshi takara medical corporation seishinkai, takara clinic doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i7.814 abstract objective: the aim of this study is to verify the effects of consuming proanthocyanidins derived from acacia bark on improving blood pressure and blood circulation in healthy japanese adult subjects.   methods: this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-comparison study involving 66 healthy japanese adults. subjects were allocated into either acacia or placebo group (n = 33 each) using a random number generator. subjects consumed six tablets/day of either acacia bark extract tablets or placebo for 12 weeks. the primary outcome was the measured value of sitting systolic blood pressure at 12 weeks, whereas the secondary outcomes were sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressures, superoxide dismutase activity in blood, and blood flow. results: the number of subjects analyzed as full analysis set was 33 (20 men and 13 women) in the acacia group and 31 (23 men and 8 women) in the placebo group. compared with the placebo group, the measured values and changes from baseline at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of the sitting systolic blood pressure were significantly lower in the acacia group. furthermore, “the ratio of the number of subjects whose sitting systolic blood pressure <130 mmhg and diastolic blood pressure ≤89 mmhg at 12 weeks” of the acacia group was significantly higher than that of the placebo group. no adverse event was observed.   conclusions: proanthocyanidins derived from acacia bark showed a hypotensive effect.   trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000039416.   foundation: acacia-no-ki co., ltd.   keywords: acacia bark extract, proanthocyanidins, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure downloads [abstract] [full article] [appendix] published 2021-07-16 issue vol. 11 no. 7 (2021): july 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com beneficial effects of gymnemic acid on three-dimensional vascular architecture and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor of intrarenal segmental and interlobar arteries in diabetic rat kidney | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 / research articles beneficial effects of gymnemic acid on three-dimensional vascular architecture and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor of intrarenal segmental and interlobar arteries in diabetic rat kidney authors manaras komolkriengkrai division of health and applied sciences faculty of science prince of songkla university thailand rawipa jangchart division of health and applied sciences faculty of science prince of songkla university thailand nichawadee sandech division of health and applied sciences faculty of science prince of songkla university thailand uraporn vongvatcharanon division of health and applied sciences faculty of science prince of songkla university thailand wipapan khimmaktong division of health and applied sciences faculty of science prince of songkla university thailand doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i6.930 abstract background: a high prevalence of atherosclerotic vascular lesions has been associated with renal disease and diabetes and is a major cause for increasing deaths from cardiovascular disease. the present study aimed to determine the beneficial effects of gymnemic acids on the kidney microvasculature and to establish their anti-angiogenic properties that are related to the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) protein of segmental and interlobar arteries in induced diabetic rats.  methods: rats were divided into five groups including the control group (c), control treated with gymnemic acid (cgm), diabetic animals (dm group) that were rendered diabetic by a single dose [60 mg/kg body weight (bw)] of a streptozotocin (stz) injection, diabetic rats treated with gymnemic acid (400 mg/kg bw) (gm), and diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide (4 mg/kg bw) (gr). after 8 weeks, kidney tissues were collected for histological analysis. in rats with dm, the segmental arteries exhibited increased wall thickness. the kidney microvasculature was examined using the vascular corrosion casting method.  results: rats with dm presented a decreasing diameter of segmental and interlobar arteries. they were evidently redeveloped and restored in the gm and gr groups. as determined by immunofluorescence, the expression of vegf was significantly reduced in both the gm and gr groups.  conclusions: the present study demonstrated that gymnemic acid from gymnemasylvestre may be a promising medical herb for use in the treatment of diabetes and kidney disease. keywords: diabetes mellitus, segmental artery, interlobar artery, gymnemic acid, vascular architecture author biography wipapan khimmaktong, division of health and applied sciences faculty of science prince of songkla university thailand division of health and applied sciences faculty of science prince of songkla university thailand downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-06-22 issue vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com immunodetection and quantification of insulin-like antigens in sprouts: development of an efficient functional food | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 / research articles immunodetection and quantification of insulin-like antigens in sprouts: development of an efficient functional food authors manju pathak amity institute of biotechnology, amity university, sector-125, noida danik m. martirosyan functional food center, richardson tx, 75080 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i11.111 abstract background: hormone insulin is a drug used for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. insulin used in this experiment is derived from bovine and pork pancreas, as well as through recombinant technology. patients with diabetes mellitus face an inability to utilize glucose from blood due to either less secretion of insulin, or the inability of the insulin to act; as a result of this glucose levels in the blood rise. the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus one is world’s major public health issues. natural alternatives have a big role to play in this field. this study aims at discovering functional foods rich in insulin like proteins. here we are reporting insulin-like proteins synthesizing during the embryo development stage of glycine max: soybean, vigna radiata: moong and vigna unguiculata: cowpea seeds. hence, germination transforms these seeds containing human insulin like proteins. methods: in our investigation we have provided protein extraction with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). the plant materials weighing 1g were crushed in mortar and pestle, and the protein from the plant materials was extracted with 20 ml of 0.05 m sodium phosphate buffer (ph 7.6). the suspensions were centrifuged at 6000 rpm for 15 min, and the clear supernatants were subjected to enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) for the detection of insulin-like proteins. we have used usda nutritional data sources for the analysis of new products. results: our results demonstrate that insulin is not expressed in dry mature dormant seeds, but is expressed only during the embryo development stage. dry mature dormant seeds and the seeds germinated for 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and 96 hours of glycine max, vigna radiata and vigna unguiculata, were investigated for expression of insulin through immunodetection using anti-insulin antibodies. dry dormant seeds of all the three seeds showed zero expression at 450 nm for insulin, while significant presence of insulin showing positive immuno-reactivity towards anti-insulin antibodies were observed at 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and at 96 hours of germination. conclusion: the study is suggesting that insulin-like proteins are synthesized only during the process of embryo development, the sprouts of such legumes, particularly soybeans, can be a good source of insulin. key words: germination, insulin, seed embryo development, sprouts. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-11-30 issue vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in-vitro screening of acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of extracts from palestinian indigenous flora in relation to the treatment of alzheimer’s disease | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 9 (2014): september 2014 / research articles in-vitro screening of acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of extracts from palestinian indigenous flora in relation to the treatment of alzheimer’s disease authors mohammed saleem ali-shtayeh biodiversity and biotechnology research unit, biodiversity and environmental research center-berc, p.o. box 696, til, nablus, palestine rana majed jamous biodiversity and biotechnology research unit, biodiversity and environmental research center-berc, p.o. box 696, til, nablus, palestine salam yousef abu zaitoun biodiversity and biotechnology research unit, biodiversity and environmental research center-berc, p.o. box 696, til, nablus, palestine iman basem qasem biodiversity and biotechnology research unit, biodiversity and environmental research center-berc, p.o. box 696, til, nablus, palestine doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i9.149 abstract background: cholinesterase inhibitory therapy serves as a strategy for the treatment of alzheimer’s disease (ad). several acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (acheis) are used for the symptomatic treatment of ad. these compounds have been reported to have adverse effects, including gastrointestinal disturbances. this study was therefore partly aimed at investigating in vitro possible acheis in herbal medicines traditionally used in palestine to treat cognitive disorders, and to point out the role of these plants as potential sources for development of newly potent and safe natural therapeutic agents of ad. assay of ache activity plays an important role in vitro characterization of drugs including potential treatments for ad. the most widely used method, is based on ellman’s method. the reactant used in this method shows chemical reactivity with oxime antidots and thiol leading to false positive reactions. a new alternative assay could be of high interest. methods: the effect on ache activity of 92 extracts of 47 medicinal plants were evaluated using a new micro-well plate ache activity (na-fb) and ellman’s assays. in addition, antioxidant activity using dpph was determined. results: the main advantages of the new method (na-fb) is that the colorimetric change is better observable visually allowing spectrophotometric as well as colorimetric assay, and does not show any chemical reactivity with thiol. 67.4% and 37% of extracts inhibited ache by >50% using the na-fb and ellman’s assays, respectively. using na-fb assay, 84 extracts interacted reversibly with the enzyme, of which mentha spicata (94.8%), foeniculum vulgare (89.81), and oxalis pes-caprae (89.21) were most potent, and 8 showed irreversible inhibition of  which leaves of lupinus pilosus (92.02%) were most active. antioxidant activity was demonstrated by 73 extracts majorana syriaca (ic50 0.21mg/ml), and rosmarinus officinalis (0.38) were the most active. conclusions: na-fb assay has shown to be simple, accurate, sensitive, spectrophotometric and colorimetric, and superior to ellman’s, and therefore can be used efficiently for qualitative and quantitative studies of achei activities of extracts. palestinian flora have shown to be a rich source for, new and promising agents (acheis) for the treatment of ad further studies are needed to isolate and identify the active compounds responsible for achei activities. keywords: alzheimer's disease, ach, medicinal plants, β-naphthyl acetate, micro-well plate ache activity assay (na-fb) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-09-01 issue vol. 4 no. 9 (2014): september 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of inoculation of lactobacillus acidophilus on the level of nitrite and nitrate in yogurt containing spinach during refrigeration in 21 days | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 / research articles effect of inoculation of lactobacillus acidophilus on the level of nitrite and nitrate in yogurt containing spinach during refrigeration in 21 days authors mitra keshavarz department of nutrition, school of nutrition and food sciences, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran reza barati-boldaji department of nutrition, school of nutrition and food sciences, nutrition and food sciences research, center shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran seyed mohammad mazloomi department of food hygiene and quality control, school of nutrition and food sciences, nutrition and food sciences research center, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran mohammad hashem yousefi department of food hygiene and public health, faculty of veterinary medicine, shiraz university, shiraz, iran doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i4.907 abstract introduction: yogurt is mixed with spinach in some countries. spinach can be a probable dietary source of nitrate and nitrite, and further n-nitrosamine.  methods: the present study aimed to investigate the effect of inoculation of lactobacillus acidophilus on the level of nitrite and nitrate in “yogurt containing spinach” (ys) during refrigeration in for 21 days. 4 types of yogurts including yogurt (y), probiotic yogurt (py), ys, and probiotic ys (pys) were produced and kept at 4 °c for 21 days. their nitrite and nitrate levels were measured by hplc on days 1, 7, 14, and 21.  results: there was no significant difference between the mean concentrations of nitrate and nitrite of y and py and between ys and pys. although the effect of refrigeration at 4 °c for 21 days was not significant on the nitrate amount of y and py, it was close to a significant level in ys and pys. it also caused a significant increase in the nitrite content of all yogurts. this study showed that lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria cannot affect the amount of nitrate and nitrite in yogurt or ys at 4°c.  conclusion: increasing the nitrite content of samples may enhance the possibility of nitrosamine formation. it is suggested that those who are at risk for all malformations caused by nitrites should not keep ys for a long time.  keywords: nitrate; nitrite; lactobacillus acidophilus; probiotic yogurt containing spinach; hplc downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-04-28 issue vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com epigenetic active phytoceuticals activate immune relevant mirnas important in virus response systems | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 / research articles epigenetic active phytoceuticals activate immune relevant mirnas important in virus response systems authors berit hippe healthbiocare gmbh, vienna, austria, 2 department of nutritional science, university of vienna, vienna, austria ulrike krammer healthbiocare gmbh, vienna, austria, 2 department of nutritional science, university of vienna, vienna, austria franziska modder department of nutritional science, university of vienna, vienna, austria anna mayer department of nutritional science, university of vienna, vienna, austria sandra speich dtmd university, luxembourg, day clinic for prevention and regeneration, muinic, germany urs gruber dtmd university, luxembourg, day clinic for prevention and regeneration, muinic, germany ursula jacob dtmd university, luxembourg, day clinic for prevention and regeneration, muinic, germany alexander haslberger healthbiocare gmbh, vienna, austria, department of nutritional science, university of vienna, vienna, austria doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i8.950 abstract background: viruses significantly affect global health. the few available viricidal and antiviral therapies are expensive and often associated with unwanted side effects. functional foods as plant extracts (nutraceuticals) are epigenetically active, and multi-target antiviral compounds that affect several steps of the viral life cycle and host proteins. micrornas (mirnas) post-transcriptionally regulate host and viral gene expression and are responsible for the fine-tuning of gene expression by controlling the expression of their target messenger rnas (mrna) in host cells and viruses. several plant ingredients have been proven to be active against rna virus infections. obviously, mirnas play a central role in the regulation of gene transcription in viral replication and host immune defense. a healthy diet and nutraceuticals can support the fine-tuning of mirnas.  objectives: the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of epigenetic active phytoceuticals and/or functional foods on immune relevant mirnas and mrnas in a healthy human study population.  methods: in a 2-month human intervention study (n=80), a mix of plant extracts (sage extract, green tea extract, berberine, apple extract, onion extract, elderberry extract, and grape skin extract) with proven activity against rna viruses were examined for the change of mirna and mrna patterns involved in virus response systems. lifestyle and nutritional behavior, including self-reported stress levels, as well as infection frequency as potential cofounders have been raised.   results: the intervention with secondary plant extracts could modulate the expression of mirnas involved in the virus defense (mir-30e, mir-877, mir-150) and the expression of nf-κb. the intervention also increased mirna expression patterns associated with a positive lifestyle. the intervention adapted mirnas that correlate with an increased risk of infection, smoking, stress, and processed meat products. conclusion: plant extracts can enhance the beneficial effects of a healthy nutrition and lifestyle by modulating mirnas. mirnas are promising drug targets for maintaining immune homeostasis. keywords: antiviral, epigenetic active nutraceutical, mirna, secondary plant extracts, virus response, plant ingredients, functional foods  downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-08-04 issue vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com stability of an anticancer peptide isolated from flathead by-products during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 / research articles stability of an anticancer peptide isolated from flathead by-products during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion authors rahmi nurdiani universitas brawijaya todor vasiljevic victoria university tanoj k singh csiro australia osaana n donkor victoria university asep a prihanto universitas brawijaya titis s kusuma universitas brawijaya doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i4.904 abstract background: several peptides from seafood have shown effective anticancer activities. nonetheless, one of the most significant challenges in developing fish peptides as functional food ingredients is proving their efficacy as anticancer agents. this study was aimed to evaluate the anticancer capacity and stability of a purified peptide (h. met-gly-pro-pro-gly-leu-ala-gly-ala-pro-gly-glu-ala-gly-arg.oh) during a simulated gastrointestinal (gi) digestion. methods: the anticancer activity of the peptide(s) before, during, and after gi digestion was analyzed against colon cancer cells (ht-29). changes in cell morphology were assessed using an inverted microscope, while the degree of apoptosis was observed using a muse cell analyzer. results: results showed little or no hydrolysis of the bioactive peptide by pepsin was observed, indicating the peptide was resistant to digestion in gastric conditions. the growth of ht-29 cells was significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) by the un-digested peptide and peptide(s) present in the digesta that was yielded by gastric and gastrointestinal digestion up to 28.89%, 29.68%, and 38.3%, respectively. ht-29 cells treated with pepsin and pancreatin digested peptides showed the highest cell death (3.54±2.30%). conclusion: overall, the findings showed that the purified peptide has the potency to be used in cancer therapy via oral administration and/or incorporation in food(s) applications for the treatment of specific cancer. keywords: bioactive peptide; digestion; fish by-products; hydrolysis author biographies rahmi nurdiani, universitas brawijaya department of fish product technology, faculty of fisheries and marine science, universitas brawijaya todor vasiljevic, victoria university advanced food systems research unit, college of health and biomedicine, victoria university tanoj k singh, csiro australia commonwealth scientific and industrial research organization-agriculture and food, australia osaana n donkor, victoria university advanced food systems research unit, college of health and biomedicine, victoria university asep a prihanto, universitas brawijaya department of fish product technology, faculty of fisheries and marine science, universitas brawijaya titis s kusuma, universitas brawijaya department of nutrition science, faculty of medicine, universitas brawijaya downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-04-29 issue vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com phenotype microarray profiling of the antibacterial activity of red cabbage | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 / research articles phenotype microarray profiling of the antibacterial activity of red cabbage authors f. abu bakar insititute of bioscience, university putra malaysia, serdang r. r. hafidh microbiology department, college of medicine, baghdad university a. s. abdulamir insititute of bioscience, university putra malaysia, serdang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i6.88 abstract background: functional food can be a potent source of wide array of biocomonents with antimicrobial activity. we investigated the antibacterial activity of red cabbage (rc) extract on gram negative and positive atcc strains. most intersting, we, for the first time, explored and analysed the complete phenotypic profile of rc-treated bacteria using omnilog phenotype microarray. results: this study revealed that the phenotype microarray (pm) screen was a valuable tool in the search for compounds and their antibacterial mechanisms that can inhibit bacterial growth by affecting certain metabolic pathways. it was shown that rc exerted remarkable antibacterial effect on s. aureus and e. coli bacteria, and pm showed a wide range phenotypic profile of the exerted rc antibacterial activity. rc targeted the peptide, carbon, nutriontional assembly, and sulfur metbolic pathways altogether. the peptidoglycan synthesis pathway was inferred to be targeted by rc extract at a metabolic point different from other available cell wall-targeting drugs; these could be hot targets for the discovery of new therapy for many problematic microbes. conclusions: taken together, the phenotype microarray for functional food and medicinal plants can be a very useful tool for profiling their antimicrobial activity. moreover, extracts of functional food can exert antibacterial activity by hitting a wide range of metabolic pathways, at the same time leading to very difficult condition for bacteria to rapidly develop resistance. therefore, using functional foods or medicinal plants as such, or as extracts, can be superior on mono-targeting antibiotics if the optimal concentrations and conditions of these functional foods were sought. key words: red cabbage, bacteria, antibacterial, phenotype microarray, omnilog, biolog downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-06-14 issue vol. 2 no. 6 (2012): june 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com differential effects of tea extracts on growth and cytokine production by normal and leukemic human leukocytes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 4 (2012): april 2012 / research articles differential effects of tea extracts on growth and cytokine production by normal and leukemic human leukocytes authors diana bayer department of biology, university of northern iowa, cedar falls, ia jonathon jansen department of biology, university of northern iowa, cedar falls, ia lisa a. beltz department of biology, university of northern iowa, cedar falls, ia, usa; department of biological sciences, kent state university at tuscarawas, new philadelphia, oh doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i4.97 abstract background: tea is one of the world’s most highly consumed beverages, second only to water. it is affordable and abundant and thus has great potential for improving health of those in both developed and developing areas. green, oolong, and black teas differ in the extent of fermentation and types of bioactive polyphenols produced. green tea and its major polyphenol decrease growth of some cancer cells and effect production of immune system cytokines. this study compares the effects of different types of tea extracts on viability and cytokine production by normal and leukemic human t lymphocytes. generation of the toxic reactive oxygen species h2o2 by extracts was also examined. methods: the jurkat t lymphoblastic leukemia cells and mitogen-stimulated normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were used in this study. cell viability was determined by (3-4,5-dimethylthiamizol-2-yl)-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and production of interleukin-2 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. levels of h2o2 generated by tea extracts were determined using the xylenol-orange method. results: we found that green, oolong, and black tea extracts differentially effect the growth and viability of t lymphoblastic leukemia cells and normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells, substantially decreasing both growth and viability of leukemic t lymphocytes and having much lesser effects on their normal counterparts. tea extracts also had differential effects on the production of the t lymphocyte growth factor interleukin-2, significantly decreasing production by leukemic cells while having only minor effects on normal cells. all three extracts induced h2o2 generation, with green and oolong tea extracts having the greatest effect. leukemic cells were much more susceptible to growth inhibition and killing by h2o2 than normal lymphocytes.  conclusions: the three tea extracts studied altered leukemic t lymphocyte functions, decreasing cell viability, growth, and production of a major cell growth factor and the h2o2 generated by solutions of extracts may be partially responsible. normal cells were affected to a far lesser degree by tea extracts and are also more resistant to killing by h2o2 than leukemic cells. this study has implications for using tea extracts for chemotherapeutic and immunomodulatory purposes. key words: tea extracts, interleukin-2, hydrogen peroxide, leukemia, t lymphocytes downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-04-17 issue vol. 2 no. 4 (2012): april 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of lecithin free egg yolk protein preparation hydrolysates obtained with digestive enzymes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 12 (2012): december 2012 / research articles antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of lecithin free egg yolk protein preparation hydrolysates obtained with digestive enzymes authors aleksandra zambrowicz wroclaw university of environmental and life sciences, department of animal products technology and quality management; chelmonskiego 37/41, 51-630 wroclaw marta pokora wroclaw university of environmental and life sciences, department of animal products technology and quality management; chelmonskiego 37/41, 51-630 wroclaw ewelina eckert wroclaw university of environmental and life sciences, department of animal products technology and quality management; chelmonskiego 37/41, 51-630 wroclaw marek szołtysik wroclaw university of environmental and life sciences, department of animal products technology and quality management; chelmonskiego 37/41, 51-630 wroclaw anna dä…browska wroclaw university of environmental and life sciences, department of animal products technology and quality management; chelmonskiego 37/41, 51-630 wroclaw józefa chrzanowska wroclaw university of environmental and life sciences, department of animal products technology and quality management; chelmonskiego 37/41, 51-630 wroclaw tadeusz trziszka wroclaw university of environmental and life sciences, department of animal products technology and quality management; chelmonskiego 37/41, 51-630 wroclaw doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i12.69 abstract several biological activities have now been associated with egg proteinderived peptides, including antihypertensive, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, anticancer and antioxidant activities, highlighting the importance of these biopeptides in human health, and disease prevention and treatment. special attention has been given to peptides with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities as a new source of natural preservatives in food industry. in this study, the antioxidant properties of the egg-yolk protein by-product (yp) hydrolysates were evaluated based on their radical scavenging capacity (dpph), fe2+chelating effect and ferric reducing power (frap). furthermore, antimicrobial properties of obtained hydrolysates against bacillus species were studied. the degrees (dhs) of hydrolysis for 4h hydrolysates were: 19.1%, 13.5% and 13.0%, for pepsin, chymotrypsin and trypsin, respectively. pepsin was the most effective in producing the free amino groups (1410.3 μmolgly/g). the rp-hplc profiles of the protein hydrolysates showed differences in the hydrophobicity of the generated peptides. trypsin hydrolysate obtained after 4h reaction demonstrated the strongest dpph free radical scavenging activity (0.85 µmol troloxeq/mg). trypsin and chymotrypsin hydrolysates obtained after 4h reaction exhibited 4 times higher ferric reducing capacity than those treated by pepsin. the hydrolysis products obtained from yp exhibited significant chelating activity. the 4h trypsin hydrolysate exhibited weak antimicrobial activity against b. subtilis b3; b. cereus b512; b. cereus b 3p and b. laterosporum b6. keywords: antioxidative activity, dpph, peptides, hydrolysis, egg-yolk protei downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-12-04 issue vol. 2 no. 12 (2012): december 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a comparison of the gene expression profiles and pathway network analyses after treatment of prostate cancer cell lines with different ganoderma lucidum based extracts | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 / research articles a comparison of the gene expression profiles and pathway network analyses after treatment of prostate cancer cell lines with different ganoderma lucidum based extracts authors chi h.j. kao discipline of nutrition, faculty of medical and health sciences, the university of auckland, auckland 1142 karen s bishop auckland cancer society research centre, faculty of medical and health sciences, the university of auckland, auckland 1142 dug yeo han nutrigenomics new zealand, the university of auckland, auckland 1142 pamela m murray auckland cancer society research centre, faculty of medical and health sciences, the university of auckland, auckland 1142 marcus p. glucina nzfocus (nz) ltd., auckland gareth j. marlow nutrigenomics new zealand, the university of auckland, auckland 1142 lynnette r ferguson discipline of nutrition, faculty of medical and health sciences, the university of auckland, auckland 1142 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i5.12 abstract background: ganoderma lucidum is a type of fungus commonly consumed in asia for the promotion of health and longevity. the observed biological activity of g. lucidum includes anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects which may be useful in the treatment and prevention of cancer and other chronic diseases. g. lucidum grows under conditions which range from tropical to temperate and has a different physiology depending on the geographical region in which it is grown. for this reason, the health benefits may vary depending on the form of g. lucidum and the environmental conditions to which it was exposed. this led us to investigate the effect of wildly grown g. lucidum, from the himalayan region versus other commercially available g. lucidum products, on two human cancer cell lines. methods: extraction of the bioactive components found in g. lucidum is essential, as the fungus is tough and indigestible. four different ganoderma extracts were prepared. thereafter, the extracts were tested on two human prostate cancer cell lines, and the ic50s were determined. this was followed by the use of affymetrix genechip® primeview™ human gene expression arrays to identify the changes in gene expression due to the treatment of prostate cancer cell lines (pc3 and du145) with ganoderma extracts. several key genes identified with affymetrix analysis were validated using rt-pcr. results and discussion: we found that all the ganoderma extracts showed growth inhibition in the cancer cell lines tested. using affymetrix microarray analysis, we identified four main biologically active pathways: cell cycle control/apoptosis, cell-cell adhesion, dna repair, and inflammatory /immune response, where activity was influenced by the ganoderma extracts used. using rt-pcr, we tested ten genes associated with all four pathways. the rt-pcr results supported our findings in the affymetrix analysis, i.e. that g. lucidum extracts have an anti-inflammatory and cell cycle effect and therefore may have long term health benefits. these effects were specific to the extract tested. key words: ganoderma lucidum, pc3, du145, gene expression, affymetrix, pathways, rt-pcr downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-07-27 issue vol. 4 no. 5 (2014): may 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com interim report from a 2-year double-blind rct testing fermented papaya preparation on immune enhancement, endothelial health and qol in elderly adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 / research articles interim report from a 2-year double-blind rct testing fermented papaya preparation on immune enhancement, endothelial health and qol in elderly adults authors aldo lorenzetti maki osato fang he cristiana aperio antonio ayala saida rasulova mario barbagallo doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i2.1050 abstract background: agingis associated with alterations in oxi-inflammatory-immune profile, and endothelial cell dysfunction. indeed, increased generation of free radicals as well as immunosenescence are hallmarks of the aging process and age-related diseases. in the past 12 years or so, data has been accumulated on fermented papaya preparation (fpp®)(osato research institute, gifu, japan), a specific functional food with robust redox and immune regulator nutrigenomics effect. the aim of this 2-year ongoing study of which we report the first-year data, was to test fpp® in redox, endothelial, and immune markers. methods: study population. from a total of 106 subjects, we report the analyzed data referring to 78 clinically stable, healthy, community-dwelling males and females, aged 60 to 75 years. the study was conducted using a double-blind method with designated groups a and b to fulfill the two different treatments. the two treatments are as follows: group a, also known as “fpp group,” was given one sachet two times per day containing 4.5g fpp®, along with one placebo capsule provided in the morning. group b, also known as “aa group,” was given one papaya-flavored sachet two times per day, along with one antioxidant mixture capsule in the morning. morning blood samples were collected and tested for: ultra-sensitive c-reactive protein (a highly sensitive elisa), inducible nitric oxide synthase (inos) (by human nitric oxide synthase kit), asymmetric dimethylarginine, or adma, (a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), apoptosis of pbmcs (by annexin v staining) and mos 36-item short-form health survey (sf-36) to assess quality of life. screening and blood tests were carried out as follows: visit i: day 0 baseline, visit ii: day 60, or 2 months, visit iii: 6 months, visit iv: 11 months. results: plasma inos levels were comparable among both groups at the beginning of the study. fpp®-treated subjects showed a significant increased level at visits ii and iii (p<0.05 vs baseline and vs aa). adma values were not affected by aa supplementation whereas fpp® treatment was associated with a significant decrease beginning with observation during visit iii (p<0.05 vs baseline and vs aa administration). the fpp® intervention was associated with improvements among several domains of quality of life such as physical function, general health, and mental components (p < 0.01 vs baseline and vs aa group). there was also at significant and comparable positive effect for time on vitality shown in both aa and fpp® groups. conclusion: unlike with the antioxidant treatment, the fpp® intervention yielded a transient decrease of adma, a decrease of inos and lower percentage in apoptotic pbmc. these results suggest that fpp®, by a more multifaceted, subcellular mechanism, as well as non-redox modulatory properties, was beneficially effective in regulating aging markers. these mechanisms are associated with a better sf-36 profile in support of fpp® as a candidate interventional functional food for health maintenance, and specifically in middle-age/elderly subjects. keywords: fermented papaya preparation, nitric oxide, adma, apoptosis, antioxidants, sf-36 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-02-27 issue vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com inhibitory effect of a formulated extract from multiple citrus peels on lps-induced inflammation in raw 246.7 macrophages | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 / research articles inhibitory effect of a formulated extract from multiple citrus peels on lps-induced inflammation in raw 246.7 macrophages authors tadahiro etoh faculty of pharmacy, iwaki meisei university, iino, chuo-dai, iwaki, fukushima 970-8551 yong p. kim faculty of pharmacy, iwaki meisei university, iino, chuo-dai, iwaki, fukushima 970-8551 masahiko hayashi faculty of pharmacy, iwaki meisei university, iino, chuo-dai, iwaki, fukushima 970-8551 michiko suzawa miyauchi citrus research center, shigoka-machi, takasaki, gunma, 370-0845 shiming li department of food science, rutgers university, new brunswick, nj 08901 chi-tang ho department of food science, rutgers university, new brunswick, nj 08901 kanki komiyama kitasato research center for environmental sciences, kitasato, sagamihara, kanagawa, 252-0329 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i6.50 abstract background: formulated citrus peel extract (gl) made from the peels of six citrus fruits available in japan, namely navel oranges, citrus hassaku, citrus limon, citrus natsudaidai, citrus miyauchi and satsuma, was initially developed as a cosmetic product to protect skin from uv irradiation. anecdotal evidences of anti-cancer property of gl have been reported by consumers based on the cases such as topical application for melanoma, and oral ingestion for prostate, lung and liver cancers. those anecdotal reports stimulated us to investigate anti-tumorigenesis activity of gl. in the previous study, we reported that the topical application of gl inhibited dmba/tpa-induced skin tumor formation by decreasing inflammatory gene parameters. objective: in this study, we mainly investigated the effect of gl on translocation of nf-kb together with production of nitric-oxide and tnf-α induced by lps in raw 264.7 cells. results: this investigation showed that gl decreased the release of tnf-α and nitric oxide from macrophage raw264.7 cells stimulated by lps in a dose-dependent manner. in addition, gl suppressed the expression of inos and nuclear translocation of nf-kb in raw264.7 cells, inhibited the degradation of iκb-α, and scavenged hydroxyl radicals (dmpo/oh adduct) in vitro. conclusions: our findings suggest that gl suppresses the inflammation in vitro, and exerts chemopreventive activity through the inhibition of production of tnf-α and inos proteins due to the inhibition of nuclear translocation of nf-kb and oxidative stress. gl appears to be a novel functional natural product capable of preventing inflammation and inflammation-associated tumorigenesis. keywords: gl, citrus peel extract, anti-inflammation, nitric oxide, inos, nf-kb, tnf-α downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-06-26 issue vol. 3 no. 6 (2013): june 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional foods in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: olive leaf extract, turmeric and fenugreek, a qualitative review | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 / review articles functional foods in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: olive leaf extract, turmeric and fenugreek, a qualitative review authors mona boaz epidemiology and research unit, e. wolfson medical center, holon, 58100 eyal leibovitz internal medicine department a, e. wolfson medical center, holon, 58100 yosefa bar dayan diabetes unit, e. wolfson medical center, holon, 58100 julio wainstein diabetes unit, e. wolfson medical center, holon, 58100 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i11.114 abstract almost 30% of us residents ages 65 and older have diabetes. the cost of diabetes care was estimated at $174 billion in 2007, including $116 billion in additional medical costs, and $58 billion in reduced productivity. globally, the estimated cost of diabetes care was $376 billion in 2010, representing 12% of health expenditures. many individuals with diabetes make use of functional foods, nutritional supplements, and/or herbal remedies to manage their disease. the functional foods olive leaf extract, turmeric, and fenugreek are commonly used in traditional medicine systems to manage diabetes. all three of these functional foods have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as well as specific insulin sensitizing qualities. in vitro studies offer proof of mechanism, and animal studies consistently show treatment efficacy for all three foods. the few human studies that have been conducted, however, use surrogate rather than clinical endpoints. the establishment of these and other functional foods as evidence based interventions for diabetes requires well designed, adequately powered, and randomized controlled pivotal trials with clinical endpoints. keywords: type 2 diabetes, olive leaf extract, turmeric, and fenugreek downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-11-30 issue vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com red beetroot betalains as a novel source of colorent in ice-cream as compared with red dye 40 (e129) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 / research articles red beetroot betalains as a novel source of colorent in ice-cream as compared with red dye 40 (e129) authors ruaa tariq mohamed ali qaswaa yousif jameel department of food science, colleges of agricultural and forestry, university of mosul, mosul, iraq doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i4.1096 abstract background: although there is an increasing need for eco-friendly and non-toxic food colorants, plant-based colors have shown to be a promising alternative to synthetic food colors. the natural pigment (betalain) was extracted from red beetroot utilizing a magnetic stirrer shaking apparatus in the current study.  objective: the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of betalain (natural pigment) and red dye 40 (synthetic pigment), on the chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of ice cream.  materials and methods: betalain and red dye 40 were added into ice cream at variable concentrations of 50 mg/ml, 100 mg/ml, and 200 mg/ml. specimens were stored for 70 days and evaluated every ten days.  results: the values of titratable acidity, ph, fat, protein, total count of microorganisms, and sensory characteristics were gave higher scores samples  than than in ice cream with red dye 40. nevertheless, betalain doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/ml have been reported to have a significant 70-day storage activity in ice cream. when compared to mixtures containing 50, 100, and 200 mg/ml of red dye 40 after 70 days. conclusion: according to the findings, betalain may be utilized as a natural pigment and food preservative to boost stability during storage. keywords: red beetroot,betalain, functional foods,  red dye 40 (e129),antioxidants, synthetic colors, storage stability downloads [abstract] [full article] untitled published 2023-04-26 issue vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities of crude ethanolic extract from the banana inflorescence of musa (abb group) namwa maliong | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 / research articles antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities of crude ethanolic extract from the banana inflorescence of musa (abb group) namwa maliong authors piyapat aiemcharoen functional food and nutrition program, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university santad wichienchot functional food and nutrition program, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university center of excellence in functional foods and gastronomy, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university decha sermwittayawong division of health and applied sciences, faculty of science, prince of songkla university https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8941-3642 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i4.909 abstract background: banana inflorescence is one of the edible parts of banana. it is well-known to have antioxidants and anti-diabetic potential health benefits.  methods: in this study, the banana inflorescence from musa (abb group) namwa mali-ong was prepared using ethanol extraction and investigated for its biochemical compositions and biological activities. the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (dpph) free radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power (frap), and 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (abts) free radical scavenging activity assays were performed. the phytochemical composition of the extract was analyzed using the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (uhlc-esi-qtof/ms) technique. additionally, the ability of the extract to stimulate glucose in c2c12 myotube was investigated.  results: the ethanolic extract of banana inflorescence contained carbohydrate, protein, phenolic, and flavonoid compounds. the results show that the extract exhibited low-level antioxidant activities.  for example, the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (ic50) in the dpph and abts assays was at 27.89 ± 0.054 and 21.33 ± 0.87 mg/ml, respectively. although the extract possesses low-level antioxidant activities, it stimulated glucose uptake in c2c12 myotubes in a doseand time-dependent fashion. consistently, the lc-esi-qtof/ms analysis in both positive and negative electrospray ionization modes reveals several components in the extract such as phytosphingosine and α-linolenic acid that have previously been shown to exhibit an anti-diabetic activity. conclusion: the results show that the inflorescence ethanolic extract possesses antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities and may potentially be developed into a health-promoting product such as an anti-diabetic drug.  keywords: antioxidant activity; banana inflorescence; glucose uptake; anti-diabetic; c2c12 myotubes downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-04-28 issue vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com sensory characteristics of selective traditional indian sweets using agave syrup and stevia : an observatory study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 / research articles sensory characteristics of selective traditional indian sweets using agave syrup and stevia : an observatory study authors rizwan yargatti arti muley doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i12.1042 abstract background:   indian sweets largely contribute to the rising graph of obesity and cardiovascular diseases in india. an urgent update in lifestyle and dietary patterns has become necessary to stay risk-free. replacement of sucrose with natural sweeteners in traditional indian sweets is one way of dealing with the consequences of high sucrose consumption. this study tries to understand the change in sensory characteristics of selective indian sweets on the replacement of sucrose with natural sweeteners like agave syrup and stevia. objectives:in this observatory study, sensory characteristics of traditional indian sweets (gulab jamun, jalebi, and motichoor ladoo) are observed after sucrose replacement with natural sweeteners. methods:in order to examine the flavour and appearance of selected indian sweets, sucrose is substituted with agave syrup and stevia. product characteristics namely appearance, flavour, colour, odour, aftertaste, and overall acceptability of the standardized sweets are compared with the control samples prepared with sucrose. results: results using the 9-point hedonic scale conclude that out of the two natural sugars used as a substitute for sucrose, stevia showed better overall acceptability for gulab jamun (84%) and motichoor ladoo (59%), but not for jalebi (30%). results for the paired comparison test conclude that substituting agave syrup with sucrose had an undesirable effect on colour, taste, and mouthfeel while substituting stevia had a detrimental effect on taste and mouthfeel only. conclusion:the results conclude an initial understanding of sucrose replacement using natural sugars namely stevia and agave syrup in the context of traditional indian sweets and stevia is better-suited replacement in gulab jamun. keywords: natural sweeteners, sucrose replacement, indian sweets, sensory evaluation, new product development, agave syrup, stevia downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-12-23 issue vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of nutritionally complete formula on gut microbiota and their metabolite in fecal batch fermentation system | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 / research articles effect of nutritionally complete formula on gut microbiota and their metabolite in fecal batch fermentation system authors santad wichienchot kridsada keawyok department of science and technology, faculty of sport and health sciences, thailand national sports university, amphoe mueang, yala, thailand doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i12.841 abstract background: emerging evidence has revealed that the gut microbiota is significantly altered, contributing to the occurrence and development of chronic kidney disease (ckd). therefore, the target of increasing short-chain fatty acids (scfas) and lactic acid production and reduction of uremic toxins were interested.    objective: to study the effect of the nutritionally complete formula (synplus) developed for hemodialysis patients on gut microbiota and their metabolite in in vitro fecal fermentation of healthy volunteers. methods:  fecal fermentation (in vitro) using batch culture in an environment mimicking human large intestine was used to study the change of gut microbiota by next generation sequencing (ngs) during fermentation of the developed formula (synplus), commercial formula (nepro®) and control. the gut metabolites were determined including short-chain fatty acids (acetic, propionic, and butyric) and lactic acid. the uremic toxins (p-cresol and indole) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (hplc). results: the increase of lactobacillus spp. (53.74%) and bifidobacterium spp. (29.35%) was observed in the developed product (synplus) compared with control at 48 hrs fermentation meanwhile, these genera were decreased in a commercial product (nepro®). moreover, the abundance of the genus escherichia spp. (12.33%) was observed in nepro® fermentation, with escherichia albertii species which is a newly discovered pathogen of the gastrointestinal tract. microbial metabolites produced by fecal fermentation of synplus revealed that propionate, acetate, and butyrate increased significantly (p<0.05). all the samples evaluated exhibited acetate in abundance when compared to other scfas. acetate was the most abundant scfa in all samples. the concentrations of acetate for synplus fermentation were 15.63±3.26, 147.29±2.39, 162.28±4.13 and 189.39±0.17 mm at 0, 12, 24, and 48 hrs respectively. total scfas produced from synplus was significantly increased (p<0.05) and higher than control and nepro®, respectively. the concentration of p-cresol at 48 hrs fermentation for control, synplus and nepro® were 3.79±0.12, 6.31±2.37 and 11.59±0.10 µg/ml, respectively. the indole concentration of control, synplus and nepro® were 3.64±0.08, 15.06±3.56 and 12.81±1.68 µg/ml, respectively. there were also indicated that imbalance of gut microbiota was related with the ratio of uremic toxins (indole and p-cresol) to scfas. conclusion: the synbiotic product containing prebiotic and probiotic may be used to improve gut microbiota thus reducing the risk of kidney disease. keywords: synbiotic, gut microbiota, uremic toxins, scfa, ckd downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-12-06 issue vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of extracts of irvingia gabonensis (igob131) and dichrostachys glomerata (dyglomeraâ„¢) on body weight and lipid parameters of healthy overweight participants | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 5 no. 6 (2015): june 2015 / research articles the effect of extracts of irvingia gabonensis (igob131) and dichrostachys glomerata (dyglomeraâ„¢) on body weight and lipid parameters of healthy overweight participants authors boris azantsa department of biochemistry and molecular biology, faculty of science, university of buea, sw region, cameroon;department of biochemistry, faculty of science, bp 812, university of yaounde 1, yaounde, cameroon; dieudonne kuate program in nutrition, school of health sciences universiti sains malaysia, 16150 kubang kerian kelantan, malaysia; raoul chakokam department of biochemistry, faculty of science, bp 812, university of yaounde 1, yaounde, cameroon; ghislain paka department of biochemistry, faculty of science, bp 812, university of yaounde 1, yaounde, cameroon; barbara bartholomew phytoquest limited, plas gogerddan, aberystwyth, ceredigion sy23 3eb, uk robert nash phytoquest limited, plas gogerddan, aberystwyth, ceredigion sy23 3eb, uk doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v5i6.184 abstract background: previous work reported the benefits of extracts of 2 cameroonian spices – irvingia gabonensis and dichrostachys glomerata— on obese people with metabolic syndrome. considering the physio-metabolic changes that accompany obesity, the present study investigates the effects of these extracts on healthy overweight participants over an 8-week test period. methods: the study was an 8 week randomized double-blind, placebo controlled design involving 48 overweight (bmi 26 – 30) participants (27 females and 19 males), divided into 3 groups – placebo, 300 mg i. gabonensis extract (igob131), or 300 mg d. glomerata extract (dyglomeratm). capsules containing the placebo or the test formulations were administered once daily before the main meal of the day. no major dietary changes or changes in physical activity were demonstrated during the study. weight and blood lipid parameters were measured at baseline, and at the 4 and 8 weeks interval. results: compared to the placebo group, there were significant (p<0.05) reductions in weight of participants in both test groups over the 8 week period. however, these significant changes were not observed in the initial 4 weeks, even though the lipid parameters in the test groups changed significantly (p<0.05). conclusion: the extracts of irvingia gabonensis and dichrostachys glomerata, at a dose of 300 mg per day, were effective in reducing weight and positively modifying lipid parameters in healthy overweight participants. keywords: overweight, dichrostachys, irvingia, waist-hip circumference, blood lipids. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2015-06-09 issue vol. 5 no. 6 (2015): june 2015 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com investigation of potential antiviral natural products with an effect on hpv18 e6 protein by molecular docking method | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 / research articles investigation of potential antiviral natural products with an effect on hpv18 e6 protein by molecular docking method authors mehdi fazeli professor of pharmacology, department of basic sciences, school of veterinary medicine, shiraz university, shiraz, iran hosna sarvazad m.sc. of microbiology, clinical research development center, imam reza hospital, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran nasrin rahnejat m.sc. of midwifery consulting, kermanshah university of medical sciences, faculty of nursing and midwifery, kermanshah, iran rezvan rostampour m.sc. of medical biochemistry, clinical research development center, imam reza hospital, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran mahtab ghanbari rad ph.d. student in medical physiology, department of physiology, school of medicine, isfahan university of medical sciences, isfahan, iran narges eskandari-roozbahani clinical research development center, imam reza hospital, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2509-9177 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i11.840 abstract background: infection with the human papillomavirus (hpv) causes cellular dysplasia, which leads to cervical cancers in women and penile or rectal cancers in men. objective: this in silico study identified the plant compounds with potential therapeutic effects against hpv 18 oncogenic virus using the molecular docking method.   methods: the three-dimensional (3d) structure of hpv18 e6 protein, as the target protein, and the 3d structure of plant compounds with potential therapeutic effect against viruses, as ligands, was obtained from the protein databases (rcsb) and pubchem, respectively. both structures of ligands and target protein were subjected to autodock tools-1.5.6, ver.4 separately. the structure with the most negative affinity was docked to reconsider its connection location. the results were analyzed more based on pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic parameters.    results: the docking of hpv18 e6 protein with 19 selected ligands resulted in four compounds, curcumin, silymarin, saikosaponin c, and lactupicrin, showing the best docking scores; they had better binding free energies with hpv e6 protein. among four compounds against hpv18 e6, silymarin and curcumin were less dangerous than other compounds due to the lack of inhibition of the human ether-à-go-go-related gene (herg). of these two compounds, silymarin had lower oral absorption, lactopicrin had less skin absorption, lactopicrin is the substrate of p-gp, and saikosaponin c crosses the blood-brain barrier. conclusion: among potential antiviral plants against hpv18e6, four compounds were found to be effective. according to these findings, it is recommended that in vitro and in vivo examinations be conducted to determine the effectiveness of these compounds against hpv18 keywords: biological products, antiviral agents, hpv18, molecular docking, computational biology, e6 protein author biography narges eskandari-roozbahani, clinical research development center, imam reza hospital, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran dr. narges eskandari-roozbahani, pharmacology ph.d  clinical research development center, imam reza hospital, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran.  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-11-12 issue vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com glycophospholipid formulation with nadh and coq10 significantly reduces intractable fatigue in western blot-positive ‘chronic lyme disease’ patients: preliminary report | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 3 (2012): march 2012 / research articles glycophospholipid formulation with nadh and coq10 significantly reduces intractable fatigue in western blot-positive ‘chronic lyme disease’ patients: preliminary report authors garth l. nicolson department of molecular pathology, the institute for molecular medicine, huntington beach, california 92647 robert settineri sierra research, irvine, california 92606 rita ellithorpe tustin longevity center, tustin, california 92780 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i3.100 abstract background: an open label 8-week preliminary study was conducted in a small number of patients to determine if a combination oral supplement containing a mixture of phosphoglycolipids, coenzyme q10 and microencapsulated nadh and other nutrients could affect fatigue levels in long-term, western blot-positive, multi-symptom ‘chronic lyme disease’ patients (also called ‘post-treatment lyme disease’ or ‘post lyme syndrome’) with intractable fatigue. methods: the subjects in this study were 6 males (mean age = 45.1 ± 12.4 years) and 10 females (mean age = 54.6 ± 7.4 years) with ‘chronic lyme disease’ (determined by multiple symptoms and positive western blot analysis) that had been symptomatic with chronic fatigue for an average of 12.7 ± 6.6 years. they had been seen by multiple physicians (13.3 ± 7.6) and had used many other remedies, supplements and drugs (14.4 ± 7.4) without fatigue relief. fatigue was monitored at 0, 7, 30 and 60 days using a validated instrument, the piper fatigue scale. results: patients in this preliminary study responded to the combination test supplement, showing a 26% reduction in overall fatigue by the end of the 8-week trial (p< 0.0003). analysis of subcategories of fatigue indicated that there were significant improvements in the ability to complete tasks and activities as well as significant improvements in mood and cognitive abilities. regression analysis of the data indicated that reductions in fatigue were consistent and occurred with a high degree of confidence (r2 = 0.998).  conclusions: the combination supplement was a safe and effective method to significantly reduce intractable fatigue in long-term patients with western blot-positive ‘chronic lyme disease.’ keywords: lyme disease, lipid replacement therapy, nt factor, mitochondria, chronic fatigue, nadh, coenzyme q10 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-03-28 issue vol. 2 no. 3 (2012): march 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of combining sleep-promoting food intake and electric field application on sleep in healthy participants: a pilot study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 / research articles effect of combining sleep-promoting food intake and electric field application on sleep in healthy participants: a pilot study authors takaki nedachi kaoru haketa shinji harakawa naoki miura koji wakame doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i12.861 abstract background: functional foods and electric fields (efs) have been previously reported as interventions for insomnia other than medications. as for functional foods, gamma-aminobutyric acid (gaba) and lafma have been reported to be related to sleep. efs have also been reported to have a sleep-related, anti-stress effect in mouse model experiments. however, the effects of combining these two methods on the human body remain poorly studied.  objective: thus, this study aimed to investigate the cointervention effect of sleep-promoting functional food intake and ef application on sleep quality in healthy participants.  methods: fifteen healthy participants were divided into three groups. the food and placebo groups were given active tablets containing food mixture of gaba and lafma, and placebo tablets, respectively, for 4 weeks. meanwhile, the food plus ef group used an ef therapy device during sleep in addition to the active food tablets. sleep quality was evaluated using electroencephalography and sleep questionnaires. results: sleep efficiency (se) was significantly higher in the food group and the food plus ef group than the placebo group at 4 weeks. the food plus ef group also had a significantly higher se involving sleep latency.  conclusions: food mixture containing known sleep-promoting ingredients such as gaba and lafma can improve sleep quality, and the improvement effect can be enhanced when administered in combination with an ef. keywords: electric field therapy, kumasasa (sasa senanensis), electric fields, sleep quality, electroencephalography clinical trial registration: approval no.: r1812; approval date: 21 feb. 2019 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-12-16 issue vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional foods in health and disease 2017; 7(10): 849-852 page 849 of 852 editorial open access functional foods and bioactive molecules with relevance to health and chronic disease ian james martins1,2,3 1centre of excellence in alzheimer’s disease research and care, school of medical and health sciences, edith cowan university, 270 joondalup drive, joondalup, 6027, australia; 2school of psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, the university of western australia, nedlands, 6009, australia; 3mccusker alzheimer's research foundation, hollywood medical centre, 85 monash avenue, suite 22, nedlands, 6009, australia corresponding author: dr ian martins, school of medical sciences, edith cowan university, 270 joondalup drive, joondalup, western australia 6027, australia submission date: september 1st, 2017, acceptance date: october 27th, 2017, publication date: october 31st, 2017 citation: martins ij, functional foods and active molecules with relevance to health and chronic disease: editorial. functional foods in health and disease 2017; 7(10): 849-852. https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v7i10.387 keywords: calorie sensitive gene, nutrition, mitophagy, senescence, active biomolecules, diabetes, functional foods, caffeine, chronic disease editorial in recent years, food scientists have published several articles which state how functional foods contain known, effective biologically-active compounds [1]. some of these biologically-active, non-toxic compounds have advantageous physiological effects [1] and could play an important role in current global chronic disease epidemics. functional food science [2] has become essential to the treatment strategies for various diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases (parkinson’s disease and alzheimer’s disease) [3]. these diseases have significantly increased in this century. for example, the incidence of diabetes has been predicted to increase to 21% and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (nafld) to 40% of the global population by 2050. nutritional science provides functional foods with the required amount of natural antioxidants, vitamins, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and other components required to maintain the immune system and for the survival of cells [4-6]. the majority of health benefits and physiological activities attributed to various functional foods and nutrients such as polyphenols which are important for brain health [7-9] require more scientific research to understand the role of caffeine as a dietary supplement [10, 11]. defective caffeine metabolism [12-14] with relevance to the global nafld epidemic is linked to the defective adipose tissue-liver cross talk [15] and brain interaction (figure 1). furthermore, caffeine may interfere with novel functional food therapy [14] with relevance to brain function and the adipose tissue crosstalk [16, 17]. functional foods in health and disease 2017; 7(10): 849-852 page 850 of 852 figure 1. the use of functional foods and bioactive molecules to maintain connections between the brain and the adipose tissue-liver crosstalk has accelerated with relevance to the global nafld and diabetes epidemic. nutritional science has become important to the brain and liver function with caffeine metabolism important to the function of bioactive molecules with relevance to the global nafld and diabetes epidemic. appetite control [18] with nutritional therapy has become of central importance, as early nutritional therapy that may assist to delay mitochondrial apoptosis connected to liver and brain disease (figure 1) associated with diabetes and aging. a high fibre diet [19] that is low in fat and improves glucose regulation [20] activates the calorie sensitive gene sirtuin 1 (sirt 1) that is a nad(+) dependent class iii histone deacetylase protein linked to various chronic diseases [21]. consequently, major unsolved challenges to advances in biology may now provide evidence to reverse sirt 1 dysfunction which is connected primarily to mitochondrial apoptosis [22, 23]. consumption of sirt 1 activators [12] are essential to maintain sirt 1 function in various tissues and to prevent sirt 1 inhibitors such as food bacterial lipopolysaccharides that are associated with programmed cell death [24-28]. novel and critical elements of scholarly peer review provide information of how the sirt 1 is the heat shock gene and its repression is relevant to mitochondrial apoptosis in multiple organ disease syndrome, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases [21]. biological active compounds/functional foods are essential to restore mitochondrial function [29] in the treatment of health and chronic disease strategies. over-nutrition, defective caffeine metabolism, and food quality induces sirt 1 repression [24-28] and overrides the beneficial effects of biological active food components [1, 3, 5, 29] that are essential in the treatment of global chronic disease (figure 1). list of abbreviations: nafld, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; sirt 1, sirtuin 1. competing interests: authors declare no conflicts of interest. acknowledgements and funding: this work was supported by grants from edith cowan university, the mccusker alzheimer's research foundation, and the national health and medical research council. functional foods in health and disease 2017; 7(10): 849-852 page 851 of 852 references 1. martirosyan dm, singh j: a new definition of functional food by ffc: what makes a new definition unique? functional foods in health and disease 2015, 5:209-223. 2. kwak ns, jukes, dj: functional foods. part 1. the development of a regulatory concept. food control 2001, 12: 99-107. 3. hasler cm: functional foods: their role in disease prevention and health promotion. food technology 1998, 52: 61-70. 4. cencic a, chingwaru w: the role of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and food supplements in intestinal health. nutrients 2010, 2: 611-625. 5. raikos v: natural antioxidants for food applications: challenges and recent developments. ec nutrition 2017, 8.2:33-34. 6. gomez lm, mesa c, restrepo o, duque jc, henao ja: our immune system is what we eat. a nutritional immunology approach. ec nutrition 2015, 3.1:546-556. 7. cox khm, scholey a: polyphenols for brain and cognitive health, in recent advances in polyphenol research. edited by yoshida k, cheynier v, and quideau s. chichester, uk: john wiley & sons, ltd; 2017. 8. vauzour d: dietary polyphenols as modulators of brain functions: biological actions and molecular mechanisms underpinning their beneficial effects. oxid med cell longev year 2012, 2012:1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/914273. 9. al-dujaili e as: natural polyphenols: potential for disease prevention. ec nutrition 2015, 2.2: 337-345. 10. nonthakaew a, matan na, aewsiri t matan ni: caffeine in foods and its antimicrobial activity. international food research journal, 2015, 22:9-14. 11. caffeine in food and dietary supplements: examining safety: workshop summary. washington, dc: the national academies press. iom (institute of medicine) 2014. [http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18607]. 12. martins ij: nutrition therapy regulates caffeine metabolism with relevance to nafld and induction of type 3 diabetes. j diabetes metab disord 2017, 4: 019. 13. martins ij: caffeine with links to nafld and accelerated brain aging. in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease molecular bases, prevention and treatment. edited by rodrigo vb. intech open science open minds, intechopen; 2017:1-24. 14. martins ij: caffeine consumption with relevance to type 3 diabetes and accelerated brain aging. research and reviews: neuroscience 2016, 1:1-5. 15. martins ij: caffeine consumption and induction of obesity in the developed world. ann obes disord 2017, 2:1018. 16. eilander a, osendarp s, tiwari, jk: functional foods for the brain, in functional food product development. edited by smith j and e. charter. oxford uk: wiley-blackwell; 2010. 17. mirmiran p, bahadoran z, azizi f: functional foods-based diet as a novel dietary approach for management of type 2 diabetes and its complications: a review. world j diabetes. 2014, 5:267-81. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=vauzour%20d%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=22701758 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3372091/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/914273 http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18607 http://www.intechopen.com/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=mirmiran%20p%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=24936248 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=bahadoran%20z%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=24936248 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=azizi%20f%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=24936248 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24936248 functional foods in health and disease 2017; 7(10): 849-852 page 852 of 852 18. martins ij: appetite control with relevance to mitochondrial biogenesis and activation of postprandial lipid metabolism in obesity linked diabetes. ann obes disord. 2016, 1: 1012. 19. riccardi g, rivellese aa: effects of dietary fiber and carbohydrate on glucose and lipoprotein metabolism in diabetic patients. diabeters care 1991, 14:1115-25. 20. martins ij, fernando w: high fibre diets and alzheimer’s disease. fns 2014, 5:410-424. 21. martins ij: single gene inactivation with implications to diabetes and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. j clin epigenet 2017, 3:1-8. 22. martins ij: unhealthy nutrigenomic diets accelerate nafld and adiposity in global communities. journal of molecular and genetic medicine 2015, 9: 1-11. 23. martins ij: diet and nutrition reverse type 3 diabetes and accelerated aging linked to global chronic diseases. j diab res ther 2016, 2:1-6. 24. martins ij: overnutrition determines lps regulation of mycotoxin induced neurotoxicity in neurodegenerative diseases. int j mol sci 2015, 16: 29554–29573. 25. martins ij: food quality induces a miscible disease with relevance to alzheimer’s disease and neurological diseases. j food research 2016, 5:45-5 26. martins ij: dietary interventions reverse insulin and synaptic plasticity defects linking to diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. sl nutrition and metabolism 2017, 1:1-5. 27. martins ij: the future of genomic medicine involves the maintenance of sirtuin 1 in global populations. int j mol biol 2017, 2: 1-4. 28. sieniawska e: concerns about quality and safety of dietary supplements ec. pharmacology and toxicology 2017,3.1:13-14. 29. nicolson gl: mitochondrial dysfunction and chronic disease: treatment with natural supplements. integr med (encinitas) 2014, 13:35–43. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=riccardi%20g%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1663443 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=rivellese%20aa%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=1663443 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1663443 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=nicolson%20gl%5bauthor%5d&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=26770107 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4566449/ protective effects of quercus salicina blume leaves aqueous extracts against cadmium-induced oxidative stress and cell cytotoxicity in hk-2 cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / research articles protective effects of quercus salicina blume leaves aqueous extracts against cadmium-induced oxidative stress and cell cytotoxicity in hk-2 cells authors yun jeong kim department of food and nutrition, college of human ecology, hanyang university kim yu jung joo-won lee department of active aging industry, division of industrial information studies, hanyang university ae-son om department of food and nutrition, college of human ecology, hanyang university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1057 abstract background: quercus salicina blume is an evergreen plant growing southern parts of korea and japan, and has been used for the treatment of dysentery, dermatitis, and hemorrhage from possible effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-endemic and litholytic activities. we investigated the underlying mechanisms of quercus salicina blume leaf extracts (qs) protection against cadmium treatment utilizing human kidney origin hk-2 cells. methods: to ascertain the functional constituents of the hot water-extracted qs, we conducted analyses to determine the total phenolic and flavonoid contents. subsequently, the antioxidant activity was assessed using dpph (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and frap (ferric ion reducing antioxidant power) methods. after treating hk-2 cells with qs and cd, we confirmed the production of reactive oxygen species (ros) and the expression of related proteins through western blotting. this investigation aimed to assess the antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects of qs against cadmium-induced oxidative stress.  results: qs exhibited strong antioxidative potential, since the samples exhibited significantly high dpph and frap values. upon exposure of hk-2 cells to cadmium, inducing oxidative stress, the application of qs effectively reinstated cellular antioxidative functions, leading to an augmentation in cell viability. notably, the presence of qs attenuated the heightened expression of oxidative marker enzymes induced by cadmium treatment, including sod (superoxide dismutase) 1, catalase, nrf-2, and heme-oxygenase. the apparent disappearance of the apoptotic bodies indicates a potential apoptosis controlling effect of qs. furthermore, the considerable increase in sub-g1 phase with the addition of cadmium was diminished under qs treatment indicating the ability of qs to reduce the degree of apoptosis related cell cycle phase. the apoptotic quenching effects of qs were accompanied by the downregulation of pro-apoptotic protein bax and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic bcl-2. the examination of cleaved caspase-9 and caspase-3 has provided evidence that the pronounced anti-apoptotic activities observed in cadmium-challenged hk-2 cells significantly diminished in the presence of qs.  conclusions: qs is a highly effective antioxidant and reduces cell cytotoxicity caused by cadmium through antioxidant functions and anti-apoptotic capabilities. keywords: quercus salicina blume leave, cadmium, antioxidant, anti-apoptosis author biographies yun jeong kim, department of food and nutrition, college of human ecology, hanyang university department of food and nutrition, college of human ecology, hanyang university ph.d candidate  joo-won lee, department of active aging industry, division of industrial information studies, hanyang university department of active aging industry, division of industrial information studies, hanyang university ae-son om, department of food and nutrition, college of human ecology, hanyang university department of food and nutrition, college of human ecology, hanyang university full professor  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-22 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com living life the natural way – wheatgrass and health | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 / review articles living life the natural way – wheatgrass and health authors satyavati rana department of gastroenterology, post graduate institute of medical education and research, chandigarh jaspreet kaur kamboj department of gastroenterology, post graduate institute of medical education and research, chandigarh vandana gandhi department of gastroenterology, post graduate institute of medical education and research, chandigarh doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i11.112 abstract the human diet is enriched with young parts of plants (so called “green foods”), which can improve nutrient balance intake in natural way. wheatgrass (triticum aestivum) refers to young grass of the common wheat plant, which belongs to poaceae family. this is the most commonly found herb in india, although its nativity is currently unknown. this plant is believed to have many nutritional values; it has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, immunomodulatory, laxative, astringent, diuretic, antibacterial and anti-aging properties. its use in acidity, colitis, kidney malfunctions, atherosclerosis and swelling has been shown to be beneficial. wheatgrass juice helps in building red blood cells and stimulates healthy tissue cell growth. 100 g of wheatgrass powder is equal to 23 kg of fresh vegetables. ideally, wheatgrass should be taken about an hour prior to meal. this allows the body to fully metabolize it without competing with other foods, and it may also curb hunger. it is recommended that lot of water (at least a liter) should be consumed with the juice to reap its maximum nutritional benefits. taking wheatgrass as a supplement in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon is a great time for this "green" energy boost.  keywords: wheatgrass, anti-carcinogenic, detoxification, health. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-11-30 issue vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of sulforaphane glucosinolates from broccoli seed extract on the immune system of healthy japanese adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 / research articles effects of sulforaphane glucosinolates from broccoli seed extract on the immune system of healthy japanese adults authors naoyuki kouno murakami farm co., ltd. naoko suzuki orthomedico inc. tsuyoshi takara medical corporation seishinkai, takara clinic doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i6.1089 abstract background: the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sulforaphane glucosinolate (sgs) from broccoli seed extracts on immune function and common cold symptoms in healthy japanese adults. methods: this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparison study was conducted on japanese adults who had worse health-related quality of life on the sf-8 and were more likely to catch colds from october 22, 2020 to april 2, 2021. individuals who agreed to participate in the study were randomly assigned to either the sgs 100 mg/day group or the placebo group (n = 33 each). the intervention lasted 8 weeks. the outcomes of this study were the cumulative and the maximum number of days for which common cold symptoms persisted during the intervention period per subject (primary), and the frequency with which subjects experienced these symptoms per group (secondary). additionally, the incidence rate of subjects infected with the influenza virus, immune indices, and sf-8 were assessed. results: based on a per protocol set, 64 subjects (33 in the sgs group and 31 in the placebo group) were analyzed. after the 8-week interventional period, the cumulative number of days for which common cold symptoms per subject was significantly lower for the sgs group than the placebo group (12.1 ± 13.5 for the sgs group and 20.2 ± 18.2 for the placebo group). the cumulative number of days of common cold symptoms per group was also significantly lower in the sgs group than in the placebo group (400 days in the sgs group and 626 days in the placebo group). no changes attributable to the sgs intervention were observed in the other outcomes. there were no adverse events due to food ingestion. conclusion: a period of 8 weeks of sgs intake was shown to alleviate the onset of common cold symptoms in healthy japanese adults who were prone to catching colds and had a low subjective sense of wellness. keywords: broccoli, sulforaphane, glucoraphanin, cold symptoms, immunity trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000042195. foundation: murakami farm co., ltd. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-06-01 issue vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com combinations of vitamin a and d are synergistic in breast cancer cells and alter gene expression in the endoplasmic reticulum stress, unfolded protein and estrogen signaling canonical pathways | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 / review articles combinations of vitamin a and d are synergistic in breast cancer cells and alter gene expression in the endoplasmic reticulum stress, unfolded protein and estrogen signaling canonical pathways authors pinal n. kanabar nina s. los temitope o. lawal shitalben m. patel nisikant a. raut mark maienschein-cline zarema arbieva gail mahady doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i3.1069 abstract introduction: numerous studies over the past 30 years have shown that bioactive compounds present in functional foods, including vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals reduce cancer risk. for example, vitamins a and d derivatives found in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, reduce the growth of breast, bladder, head, neck, lung, prostate, and skin cancers. however, the effects of these combined vitamins have not been previously reported for breast cancer. aims: to investigate the activities of vitamin a (all-trans-retinoic acid; atra), as well as vitamins d2 and d3 in combination in the breast epithelial cancer cell lines t47d:a18, mcf-7, and sk-br-3 and perform whole genome analysis in mcf-7 cells using rna-seq. methods: breast cancer cells were cultured in appropriate media and treated with atra, d2 or d3 alone in concentrations from 1-10 μg/ml, or in combination at 1, 5, and 10 μg/ml. the celltiter-glo® 2.0 assay, caspase-glo®3/7, caspase®8, and apotox-glo™ triplex assays measured cell viability and apoptosis. the effect of treatment on autophagy in mcf-7 cells was measured with a cyto-id® autophagy detection kit 2.0. the whole transcriptome analysis was assessed using mrna-seq and qpcr. results: separately, atra, d2, and d3 all reduced the viability of all breast cancer cell lines tested, with median inhibitory concentrations (ic50) between 2.1 to 31.7 μg/ml. however, when breast cancer cells were treated with combinations of atra+d2+d3, the ic50 was reduced indicating synergism. in mcf-7 cells, 5-flurouracil (5-flu) had an ic50 of 1.37 µg/ml, while the vitamin a and d combination had an ic50 of 1.5 µg/ml, indicating the combination was ~90% as effective as 5-flu. treatment of mcf-7 cells with atra+d2+d3 enhanced caspase 3/7 activity, as well as the expression of bax, bad, pten and p53 (apoptosis canonical pathway), as well as induced autophagy. whole genome analysis of treated mcf-7 cells showed a significant upregulation in gene expression in the autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response apoptosis canonical pathways. furthermore, mcf-7 cells treated with atra+d2+d3 demonstrated significant downregulation of gene expression in estrogen-mediated s phase entry and estrogen signaling canonical pathways suggesting antiestrogenic effects.  conclusions: vitamins a and d combinations had synergistic effects in breast cancer cells and induced both apoptosis and autophagy. transcriptional profiling showed significant alterations in gene expression patterns and upregulation of multiple cancer signaling pathways supporting the hypothesis that combining vitamins a and d is a more effective treatment than either vitamin alone.  keywords: all-trans-retinoic acid (atra), vitamin d2, vitamin d3, breast cancer cells, apoptosis, estrogen receptors downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-03-29 issue vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com glycemic index values of some jaffna fruits | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 2 (2012): february 2012 / research articles glycemic index values of some jaffna fruits authors selladurai pirasath department of biochemistry, faculty of medicine, university of jaffna kulasingam thayananthan department of biochemistry, faculty of medicine, university of jaffna sandrasekarampillai balakumar department of biochemistry, faculty of medicine, university of jaffna vasanthy arasaratnam department of biochemistry, faculty of medicine, university of jaffna doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i2.101 abstract background: the incidence of diabetes mellitus has recently increased in developing countries. scientific data on glycemic index values of common meals is essential to modify the diets for diabetes mellitus patients. this study aimed to evaluate the glycemic index (gi) values of fruits such as ‘kathali’ (yellow plantain), ‘kappal’ (golden plantain), and ‘itharai’ (green plantain) varieties of plantains, jack fruit and papaya. the results will be helpful to physicians and the general public to decide the benefits of the consumption of fruits, particularly by diabetic and coronary heart disease patients. methods: healthy volunteers (20 nos.) of 21.05(±0.92) years, 53.90 (±9.36) kg body weights, 153.92 (±9.15) m heights, and 20.55 (±2.22) kgm-2 body mass indexes were selected with their written consent. after overnight fasting, 75g glucose and each test fruit containing 75g digestible carbohydrate were administered at different instances and blood glucose levels were measured half hourly for two hours. the glycemic response and gi values were calculated and analyzed by randomized complete block design using sas analytical package. results: the mean gi values of the ‘kathali’, ‘kappal’, ‘itharai’ varieties of plantains, jack fruit and papaya were 54.45 (±9.26), 50.43 (±5.79), 48.47 (±10.13), 65.36 (±8.00) and 34.80 (±12.78) % respectively. the gi value of papaya differed significantly (p<0.05) from other fruits. the gi value of ‘itharai’ variety of plantain differed significantly (p<0.05) from other fruits except the ‘kappal’ variety of plantain. conclusion: the three varieties of plantains and papaya were low gi fruits, and jack fruit was found to be an intermediate gi fruit. the presence of dietary fiber, esp. soluble fiber, reduces the glycemic response and glycemic index of foods.  keywords: glycemic index, glycemic response, fiber, fruits. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-02-29 issue vol. 2 no. 2 (2012): february 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effects of probiotics in ulcerative colitis patients: a randomized controlled double blind clinical trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / clinical trial the effects of probiotics in ulcerative colitis patients: a randomized controlled double blind clinical trial authors babak tamizifar awat feizi marzieh rahim khorasani nazila kassaian ali zamanimoghadam shayan arbabnia peyman adibi sede doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1098 abstract background: in the recent decade, ulcerative colitis (uc) as a chronic inflammatory bowel disease has a growing incidence and prevalence in the world.probiotics might be a promising approach to improve ulcerative colitis by favorably modifying the gut microbiota.   methods: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial was conducted on sixty patients with mild/moderate ulcerative colitis. participants were administered either placebo (n = 30) or a multi-strain probiotic (n= 30) for 16 weeks. clinical disease status, via lichtiger and mayo questionnaires, was assessed at baseline and after 8 and 16 weeks of intervention. fecal calprotectin was measured before and after the study period. within and between groups, comparisons were made using per-protocol (pp) and intention-to-treat (itt) approaches, and a p-value≤0.05 was considered a statistically significant level.  results: of the sixty patients who agreed to participate in the study, 18 dropped out during the study due to low compliance and gastrointestinal complications. the two groups were comparable in baseline variables (p>0.05). during the study, the within and between groups’ diﬀerences of calprotectin and mayo scores were not statistically significant. although the mean score of lichtiger was significantly decreased in the probiotic group during the study period (p = 0.001), no statistically significant differences compared with the placebo group were seen. conclusion: our study elucidated that probiotic supplementation does not significantly improve uc patients, which may be due to the strain and dose administered. future research should focus on the best effective strains and doses for ulcerative colitis. keywords:probiotic, ulcerative colitis, ibd, clinical trial downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-15 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section clinical trial license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com producing micronand nano-size formulations for functional foods applications | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 / research articles producing micronand nano-size formulations for functional foods applications authors thomai panagiotou microfluidics international, idex material processing technologies, 30 ossipee rd, newton, ma 02464 robert j. fisher 2massachusetts institute of technology, chemical engineering department, bldg 66, rm 305, 77 massachusetts avenue, cambridge, ma 02139-4307 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i7.48 abstract background: nutrient deficiencies affect the health and wellness of large populations around the world. for example, the majority suffer from vitamin, essential fatty acid (such as omega-3), dietary fiber, and other important ingredient deficiencies due to their limited supply in the human food chain. current trends in the nutraceutics industry to place these substances in higher. more-efficiently dispersed quantities in our food have become critically essential to their business plans. nutrients in the form of small solids or droplets improve bioavailability. however, there remain numerous barriers to successful implementation of cost effective manufacturing processes. these challenges are addressed in the work presented here with particular focus on stability, bioavailability, and consumer acceptance. the goal is to develop large scale manufacturing systems that implement efficient platform technologies, with their respective operational maps, to produce functional food formulations, with particle sizes of these specially formulated nutraceutical ingredients in the micron-and nanorange. objective: demonstrating that stable micronand nano-size emulsions, liposomes, and aqueous suspensions of functional food formulations can be produced using both “top down” and “bottom up” methods is our main objective. addressing the challenges associated with the incorporation of these ingredients into large scale manufacturing systems, mainly mechanical stability and related shelf-life issues, is also a focus. that is, to develop proper processing protocols providing improved quality foods enriched with ingredients that are in limited supply in our food chain; to enhance human health and wellness world-wide. methods: the formulations considered here typical of those used for increasing bioavailability of the infused, specially formulated ingredients with anti-cancer, anti-aging, and in-general wellness properties, lowering fat content and enhancing the shelf-life stability. included are (a) an oil-in-water (fish oil/omega-3) emulsion, (b) liposome chaperones to vitamin c, and (c) aqueous suspensions (curcumin crystals, lutein/carotenoids, and fiber in soy milk). the production techniques include both “top-down” particle size reduction and “bottom-up” formation of crystals/precipitates via solubility adjustments. both techniques are based on high shear processing of multiple liquid feeds. using an impinging jet system, micro-mixing scales less than 100 nm were obtained. results: (a) all nano-emulsion types, single, double and larger, either as oil-in-water and water-in-oil, can effectively be produced from various formulations using “top-down” methods. illustrated here are single, oil-in-water systems; concentrations of 12-14 wt. % fish oil/omega-3 were mixed with water containing food grade surfactants. the high shear processing produced stable, submicron particles; with median particle sizes of 119-163 nm, no particles larger than 1 micron, and the “fish” odor was suppressed. pertinent discussions related to the other types are also given as suggested path forward approaches for the development of nutrient enriched functional foods. this includes water-in-oil formulations for reduced fat content and the delivery of multiple species via double and triple emulsions, as compared to liposome configurations. (b) although liposomes may be used to encapsulate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic substances, we selected liposomal vitamin c as our initial proof-of-concept system since it is absorbed into the body over four times more easily than its non-encapsulated form. after top down processing, the median size was 200 nm, compared to a median size of about 5 microns obtained by traditional self-assembly protocols. (b) aqueous suspensions of micronand nanosize formulations were also accomplished. the top down size reduction technique was used for processing soy bean fibers and lutein and the bottom-up method used for curcumin crystals. the fibers initially had a median size of 150 microns and a bi-modal distribution was obtained after processing; 99% of the particles were smaller than 15 microns with median sizes at 10 microns and the larger peak at about 200 nm. the curcumin submicron particles were formed via anti-solvent crystallization; with stable particles in the range of 300-500 nm.   conclusions: our study demonstrates that stable micronand nano-size emulsions, liposomes, and aqueous suspensions can be produced using both “top down” and “bottom up” methods. the formulation properties, in terms of particle size and stability, strongly depend on the processing parameters used in terms of energy input and temperature history. the energy requirements of the “bottom up” methods may be substantially lower than those of “top down” methods. although some of the processes presented here have been scaled up to commercial levels, more work is needed in terms of fully assessing the bioavailability of the produced formulations and optimizing the processes to minimize cost.   key words: nano-emulsion, nano-suspension, high-shear processing, crystallization, curcumin, fish oil, liposomal vitamins: c and e, lutein, nutraceuticals, omega-3, soybean fiber downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-07-08 issue vol. 3 no. 7 (2013): july 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com almond skin polyphenol extracts stimulate the activation of diacylglycerol kinase alpha via a 67 kda laminin receptor | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 / research articles almond skin polyphenol extracts stimulate the activation of diacylglycerol kinase alpha via a 67 kda laminin receptor authors boonyaporn chinthammit department of agrobioscience, graduate school of agriculture, kobe university, japan seika okamoto department of agrobioscience, graduate school of agriculture, kobe university, japan yasuhito shirai department of agrobioscience, graduate school of agriculture, kobe university, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i4.894 abstract background: almond skins are the byproduct of the almond industry that are rich in dietary fibers and polyphenols. recently, there has been an increasing interest in utilizing the phenolic compounds from almond skins for their functional benefits. galloylated catechins activate diacylglycerol kinase α (dgkα) which is involved in the amelioration of diabetic nephropathy. therefore, in this study, we investigated whether almond skin polyphenol extracts can also induce the activation of dgkα.  methods: phenolic contents in the almond skin polyphenol extracts were identified by liquid chromatography (lc)-time of flight mass spectrometry (tofms). using confocal microscopy, the translocation of green fluorescent protein (gfp)-dgkα to the cell membrane was observed upon stimulation with almond skin polyphenol extracts. to check the involvement of 67 kda laminin receptor (67lr), pre-treatment of anti-67lr antibody was used. results: we identified that naringenin and flavanone (2,3-dihydroflavone), which are among the phenolic contents in the almond skin polyphenol extracts identified, can also induce the activation of dgkα. in addition, we also investigated whether the pathway involves the same receptor as that of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (egcg); the 67lr. naringenin stimulated through the 67lr, while flavanone mainly used the 67lr-independent pathways. conclusion: these findings were additional function of almond skin polyphenol extracts and may implicate the benefits of the intake of nuts in daily diets. polyphenols can be extracted from almond skins as an inexpensive source. the various health benefits of polyphenols can be applied to functional foods and supplements. keywords: flavonoid, lipid kinase, imaging, catechin, vitamin e, diabetic nephropathy   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-04-27 issue vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-cancer activities of ganoderma lucidum: active ingredients and pathways | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 2 (2013): february 2013 / review articles anti-cancer activities of ganoderma lucidum: active ingredients and pathways authors chi kao discipline of nutrition, fm&hs, university of auckland, auckland 1142 amalini c. jesuthasan discipline of nutrition, fm&hs, university of auckland, auckland 1142 karen s. bishop auckland cancer society research centre, fm&hs, university of auckland, auckland 1142 marcus p. glucina great navy ltd, manuwera, auckland lynnette r. ferguson discipline of nutrition, fm&hs, university of auckland, auckland 1142 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i2.65 abstract ganoderma lucidum, commonly referred to as lingzhi, has been used in asia for health promotion for centuries. the anti-cancer effects of g. lucidum have been demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo studies. in addition, the observed anti-cancer activities of ganoderma have prompted its usage by cancer patients alongside chemotherapy. the main two bioactive components of g. lucidum can be broadly grouped into triterpenes and polysaccharides. despite triterpenes and polysaccharides being widely known as the major active ingredients, the different biological pathways by which they exert their anti-cancer effect remain poorly defined. therefore, understanding the mechanisms of action may lead to more widespread use of ganoderma as an anti-cancer agent. the aim of this paper is to summarise the various bioactive mechanisms that have been proposed for the anti-cancer properties of triterpenes and polysaccharides extracted from g. lucidum. a literature search of published papers on ncbi with keywords “ganoderma” and “cancer” was performed. among those, studies which specifically examined the anti-cancer activities of ganoderma triterpenes and polysaccharides were selected to be included in this paper. we have found five potential mechanisms which are associated with the anti-cancer activities of ganoderma triterpenes and three potential mechanisms for ganoderma polysaccharides. in addition, g. lucidum has been used in combination with known anti-cancer agents to improve the anti-cancer efficacies. this suggests ganoderma’s bioactive pathways may compliment that of anti-cancer agents. in this paper we present several potential anti-cancer mechanisms of ganoderma triterpenes and polysaccharides which can be used for the development of ganoderma as an anti-cancer agent. keywords: ganoderma lucidum, cancer, bioactive pathways, triterpene, polysaccharide downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-02-09 issue vol. 3 no. 2 (2013): february 2013 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com biofilm formation and auto-aggregation abilities of novel targeted aqua-probiotics | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 / research articles biofilm formation and auto-aggregation abilities of novel targeted aqua-probiotics authors anahit manvelyan marine balayan shakhlo miralimova vladimir chistyakov astghik pepoyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i4.1093 abstract background: the probiotics’ auto-aggregation and biofilm formation abilities have a significant role in the development of biotechnological processes. objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the biofilm formation and auto-aggregation abilities of novel, targeted aqua-probiotics isolated from aquatic organisms. methods: the biofilm formation abilities of lactobacillus delbrueckii str. uz-1, lactiplantibacillus plantarum str. r3, lactococcus str. uz-2, enterococcus faecium str. r2, pediococcus acidilactici str. n from the culture collection of the microbiology of the academy of sciences of the republic of uzbekistan, bacillus subtilis str. 1r, bacillus amyloliquefaciens str. 4r and from the culture collection of the southern federal university of russa and lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus str. 1a and enterococcus str. 9-3 from the culture collection of the armenian national agrarian university were assessed. results: according to the investigations, the biofilm formation abilities of lactobacillus delbrueckii str. uz-1, lactiplantibacillus plantarum str. r3, lactococcus str. uz-2, enterococcus faecium str. r2, pediococcus acidilactici str. n, bacillus subtilis str. 1r, bacillus amyloliquefaciens str. 4r, bacillus amyloliquefaciens str. 5r, lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus str. 1a and enterococcus str. 9-3 were 0.119 ± 0.05d, 0.113 ± 0.065d, 0.196 ± 0.04d, 0.116 ± 0.01d, 0.152 ± 0.05d, 0.74 ± 0.15d, 2.621± 0.55d, 1.831 ± 0.45d, and 0.227 ± 0.04d and 0.483 ± 0.15d respectively. the highest rate of auto-aggregation was shown by bacillus amyloliquefaciens str. 5r, and bacillus amyloliquefaciens str. 4r was the strain with the highest ability to form biofilm. these two bacillus strains are also distinguished by the highest dna protective properties and relatively low antioxidant activity. despite the fact that bacillus amyloliquefaciens str. 5r showed the highest rate of auto-aggregation after 2 hours, this strain showed the lowest level of auto-aggregation among the studied strains after 24 hours. the enterococcus str. 9-3 strain with the highest antioxidant activity showed 0.483 ± 0.15d biofilm formation ability. conclusion: the novel targeted aquaprobiotics have distinct biofilm formation and aggregation properties, which are important to consider when planning appropriate biotechnological processes, requiring specific membrane properties of probiotics. graphical abstract: membrane properties of novel targeted aquaprobiotics. keywords: lactobacilli, aqua-probiotic, antioxidant activity, biofilm formation, aggregation, enterococcus str. 9-3 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-04-04 issue vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com proanthocyanidins from the american cranberry (vaccinium macrocarpon) induce cell cycle alterations in du145 human prostate cancer cells in vitro by affecting the expression of cell cycle-associated proteins | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 4 (2014): april 2014 / research articles proanthocyanidins from the american cranberry (vaccinium macrocarpon) induce cell cycle alterations in du145 human prostate cancer cells in vitro by affecting the expression of cell cycle-associated proteins authors joseph kim department of biology, university of prince edward island, charlottetown, pe brendan mckeown department of biology, university of prince edward island, charlottetown, pe kunal patel department of chemistry and biochemistry, university of massachusetts-dartmouth, north dartmouth, ma adriana catalli nrc institute for nutrisciences and health, charlottetown, pe marianna kulka nrc national institute of nanotechnology, edmonton, ab catherine neto department of chemistry and biochemistry, university of massachusetts-dartmouth, north dartmouth, ma robert hurta department of biology, university of prince edward island, charlottetown, pe doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i4.20 abstract background: prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. there are genetic and environmental factors that can potentially impact the development and progression of many types of cancer, including prostate cancer. as a consequence of environmental factors, such as diet having a potential effect on the development of prostate cancer, considerable interest in the possible health benefits associated with the inclusion and consumption of certain foods in the diet exists. context and purpose of this study: this study describes the effects of a proanthocyanidin-enriched fraction (pacs) isolated from the american cranberry (vaccinium macrocarpon) on the behaviour of androgen-refractory (insensitive) du145 human prostate cancer cells in vitro. results: following treatment of du145 human prostate cancer cells with 25 µg/ml of pacs for six hours, pacs significantly decreased the cellular viability of du145 cells. pacs treatment (25 µg/ml for 6 hours) of du145 cells increased the proportion of cells in the g2-m phase of the cell cycle and decreased the proportion of cells in the g1 phase of the cell cycle. these alterations were associated with changes in cell cycle regulatory proteins and other cell cycle associated proteins. pacs increased the expression of cyclin e, cyclin d1, cdk2 and cdk4, and decreased the expression of cyclin a and cyclin b1. the protein expression level of p27 increased, and the protein expression levels of p16ink4a, p21, and prbp107 decreased in response to pacs treatment. the protein expression level of prbp130 was unchanged in response to pacs treatment. conclusions: these findings demonstrate that proanthocyanidins from the american cranberry can affect the behaviour of human prostate cancer cells in vitro and further support the potential health benefits associated with cranberries. keywords: prostate cancer, proanthocyanidin-enriched fraction (pacs), american cranberry (vaccinium macrocarpon) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-04-16 issue vol. 4 no. 4 (2014): april 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com using food grade lye “omushelekha” in the formulation of health products from commonly consumed african indigenous vegetables and vegetable combinations | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 5 (2011): may 2011 / research articles using food grade lye “omushelekha” in the formulation of health products from commonly consumed african indigenous vegetables and vegetable combinations authors mary k. walingo school of public health and community, maseno university, box 333, maseno florence o. habwe school of public health and community, maseno university, box 333, maseno doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i5.131 abstract background: lye, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide has been used over the years in food preparation including the preparation of vegetables and dried meat products, washing or chemical peeling of fruits and vegetables, cocoa processing, caramel production, poultry scalding and cooking among others. lye is believed to improve the organoleptic properties and also enhances the nutritional value to the products. objective: to assess the effect of food grade lye on the levels of copper and iron in the raw, boiled and boiled-fried single vegetables and vegetable combinations treated with and without food grade lye. methods: single vegetables, crotalaria occroleuca, solanum scabrum, vigna unguiculata and amaranthus blitum and their combinations were cooled and kept in the fridge at 4ocs. elemental analysis was done for the raw, boiled and boiled-fried samples using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (aas) under standard conditions using wavelengths of 248.3nm for iron and 324.2nm for copper. paired t-test was used to compare the iron and copper levels of the boiled and boiled-fried vegetables while the independent t-test was done to assess the levels of iron and copper in the raw, boiled and boiled fried samples. results: boiled-fried samples recorded higher content of iron and copper than the boiled ones. a combination of amaranthus blitum-crotolaria occloreuca boiled without lye boiled-fried with lye, and boiled-fried without lye had the highest copper contents of 1.66mg/100gram, 4.56mg/100gram, and 4.56mg/100gram respectively, compared to amaranthus blitum alone (3.48mg/100gram) and crotolaria occloreuca (0.42mg/100gram). a combination of amaranthus blitum-crotolaria occloreuca boiled in non-lye water, and those boiled-fried with and without lye had the highest extractable iron of 557mg/100g, 859.2mg/100g, and 859.2mg/100g respectively. iron content was high in the solanum scabrum (281.1mg/100g), and crotolaria occloreuca (110/100g), amaranthus blitum (108mg/100g) boiled-fried with lye. it was possible that iron was leached from the cooking utensils and absorbed by the vegetables. conclusion: the results of this study clearly demonstrated that vegetable combinations of amaranthus blitum-crotolaria occloreuca had a higher content of copper. vegetable combinations exposed to different treatments had higher levels of iron and copper. this could be attributed different nutrient-nutrient interactions between different vegetables combinations. key words: food grade lye, crotalaria occroleuca, solanum scabrum, vigna unguiculata, amaranthus blitum, iron, copper. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-05-24 issue vol. 1 no. 5 (2011): may 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in vitro alpha-amylase inhibition, antioxidant, nutritional and sensory properties of functional spice-blend fortified cookies | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 / research articles in vitro alpha-amylase inhibition, antioxidant, nutritional and sensory properties of functional spice-blend fortified cookies authors gloria aderonke otunola university of fort hare, south africa http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2613-2741 anthony jide afolayan university of fort hare, south africa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i2.845 abstract introduction: fortification of foods is often performed to formulate and develop functional foods that improve the nutritional and health status of consumers.      methods: in this study, a spice-blend (cayenne pepper, garlic and ginger) was incorporated into wheat flour at 5, 10, 15 and 20% for the production of nutritional and healthy cookies. physicochemical, nutritional, sensory, total phenolics, antioxidant activity and alpha-amylase inhibitory assays of the cookies were performed and compared with control cookies and standards (vitamin c and acarbose ) respectively.    results: significant differences (p<0.05) were observed in core, weight, diameter, height, and texture of the spice-blend cookies. fat, ash, fibre, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorous and manganese contents of the cookies were significantly improved, especially as the spice mix increased, while iron, calcium copper and zinc were stable. sensory evaluation revealed a high acceptability of the spice-cookies at up to 5% fortification. interestingly, although the total phenol and flavonoid content of the fortified cookies was low, the antioxidant activity was high compared to control cookies and competitively with vitamin c, the standard antioxidant used. inhibitory activity of the fortified cookies against alpha-amylase was significant and dose responsive.  conclusion: these results indicate that the spice blend at 5% addition has potential as a therapeutic healthy snack for the prevention of malnutrition and hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. keywords: cookies, functional foods, hyperglycemia, sensory, bioactive compounds author biographies gloria aderonke otunola, university of fort hare, south africa medicinal plants and economic development (mped) research centre, department of botany, university of fort hare, alice 5700, south africa anthony jide afolayan, university of fort hare, south africa medicinal plants and economic development (mped) research centre, department of botany, university of fort hare, alice 5700, south africa downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-02-03 issue vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of poly phenols in enhancing the swimming capacity of rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 / research articles effect of poly phenols in enhancing the swimming capacity of rats authors mahadevappa siddalinga swamy biochemistry and nutrition discipline, defence food research laboratory, mysore-570011 naveen sivanna biochemistry and nutrition discipline, defence food research laboratory, mysore-570011 anand tamatam biochemistry and nutrition discipline, defence food research laboratory, mysore-570011 farhath khanum biochemistry and nutrition discipline, defence food research laboratory, mysore-570011 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i11.115 abstract background: increased physical activities elevate reactive oxygen species (ros) leading to dysfunction and integrity of cells thus inducing oxidative stress which intern may affect overall physical performance. polyphenols are well known for their excellent antioxidant potency. in this study, the effect of selected polyphenols with established health benefits viz., catachin, chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid and quercetin was investigated with respect to swimming performance in rats. methods: the animals were force fed with aqueous mixture of polyphenols at 25 mg/rat/day and subjected to swimming exercise until exhaustion. results: rats fed with poly phenols showed a significant increase in swimming time, and the activities of lactic dehydrogenase (ldh) and creatine pyruvic kinase (cpk) were lowered. polyphenols increased the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (atp), glycogen in muscle lowered the activities of and. polyphenols increased the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (atp) and glycogen in muscle and reduced mda levels in the liver, muscle and blood but increased dna and rna concentration in muscle. conclusion: the results clearly demonstrated combination of polyphenols used enhanced the swimming performance of the rats. keywords: polyphenols, exercise capacity, ros, atp, catachin, chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid and quercetin downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-11-30 issue vol. 1 no. 11 (2011): november 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of polydextrose on fecal bulk and bowel function in mildly constipated healthy adults: a double-blind, placebo controlled study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 5 (2023): may 2023 / research articles the effect of polydextrose on fecal bulk and bowel function in mildly constipated healthy adults: a double-blind, placebo controlled study authors davide risso ieva laurie essi sarkkinen kavita karnik doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i5.1099 abstract background: polydextrose (pdx) (8-30g/day) increases fecal bulk and consistency, helping to ease stool passage. however, the results of its effect on defecation frequency and colonic transit have been discordant, and most focused on either healthy or highly constipated adults, leaving the question on if and how pdx could also aid mildly constipated individuals partially unanswered. material and methods: we investigated the effects of pdx consumption by healthy subjects experiencing one or more symptoms of mild constipation on fecal bulk, defecation frequency, stool consistency, ease of stool passage, and total colonic transit time to further characterize and generate additional evidence regarding the potential beneficial effects of this fibre. 51 subjects participated in a 4-week, two-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study testing a control (con) and a pdx treatment (18 g/d included in biscuits and drink mixtures) (registered on clinicaltrials.gov with the identifier" nct05309837"). results: consumption of pdx resulted in 120.7 g and 25.7 g higher fecal wet and dry weight, respectively (p < 0.05). colonic transit time was ~4 h shorter in the pdx group: although this difference did not reach significance (p > 0.05) as it was underpowered to detect a significant difference for this secondary outcome, this result still carries a physiological importance. consumption of pdx was well-tolerated, with some pdx volunteers reporting more mild flatulence (p < 0.05). conclusion: all in all, our study adds new evidence on how a moderate (18g) daily intake of pdx could increase fecal bulking and potentially shorten colonic transit time, making this ingredient a good candidate to be used to reformulate packaged goods by replacing caloric carbohydrates with lower caloric content, enriching food items easily consumed to enhance fibre intake and support bowel function. keywords: polydextrose; pdx; constipation; bowel function; clinical trial gut health; fibre     downloads [abstract] [full article] [supplementary] published 2023-05-03 issue vol. 13 no. 5 (2023): may 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com adherence to the mediterranean diet: an online questionnaire based-study in a spanish population sample just before the covid-19 lockdown | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 6 (2021): june 2021 / research articles adherence to the mediterranean diet: an online questionnaire based-study in a spanish population sample just before the covid-19 lockdown authors ana bagues andrea almagro teresa bermúdez yolanda lópez-tofiño antonio gonzález raquel abalo phd department of basic health sciences (area of pharmacology and nutrition), university rey juan carlos, avda. de atenas s/n, 28922 alcorcón (madrid), spain. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i6.806 abstract background: the mediterranean diet (md) has been associated with a reduced risk of developing several pathologies, such as cardiovascular diseases. despite this, adherence to md in the general population has decreased in the past years. due to covid-19 crisis, eating habits of the population are being affected, thus data assessing these habits just before lockdown are important to determine how they are modified. the mediterranean diet quality index (kidmed) questionnaire was used to evaluate adherence to md just before covid-19 lockdown. methods: the kidmed survey was launched through the google platform for surveys, from 2/20/20 until 3/13/20. additionally, questions about gender, weight and height for body mass index (bmi) calculation, academic degree, and nationality were included. multivariate linear regression was performed for data analysis. results: a total of 861 completed surveys were collected. some surveys were discarded because data was missing (18), the participants were not of spanish nationality (18), or because they did not belong to the age groups included in the study (19). the remaining 804 surveys were divided into the following age groups: 15-24 (n=160), 25-34 (n=158), 35-54 (n=363) and 55-69 (n=123). in the 15–24-year-old group, 71.9% had a bmi between 18-24.9, but only 28.1% reached an index ≥8 in the kidmed questionnaire. adherence to md improved as the age in the groups increased, but so did the bmi, especially in the oldest group. in all adult groups, approximately 50% had a university education. overall, lower bmi was significantly related to females, younger age and a higher degree of studies. on the other hand, the higher adherence to md was related to older age and a higher degree of education.   conclusions: the improved adherence to md was not associated with a reduced bmi. maybe other factors, like sedentary life or hormonal changes, known to impact people while aging, have influenced our results. possibly, adherence to md might have played a protective role, at least partially, against an even higher bmi. more research is needed to fully determine the impact of adherence to md in the spanish population, also after covid-19 lockdown. keywords: mediterranean diet, kidmed, body mass index, spain downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-06-29 issue vol. 11 no. 6 (2021): june 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com inhibition of atherosclerotic plaque formation in apoe-deficient mice by dietary supplementation with lactobacillus casei | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 4 (2014): april 2014 / research articles inhibition of atherosclerotic plaque formation in apoe-deficient mice by dietary supplementation with lactobacillus casei authors zhihong tang department of nutrition, school of public health, sun yat-sen university, guangzhou 510080 jing ma department of nutrition, school of public health, sun yat-sen university, guangzhou 510080 zhen zeng department of nutrition, school of public health, sun yat-sen university, guangzhou 510080 siping wu department of nutrition, school of public health, sun yat-sen university, guangzhou 510080 mengjun hou department of nutrition, school of public health, sun yat-sen university, guangzhou 510080 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i4.19 abstract background: elevated serum cholesterol in humans is generally a risk factor correlated with the development of atherosclerosis (as). lactobacillus casei has been demonstrated to have the potential to reduce human serum cholesterol levels. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-atherosclerotic effect of lactobacillus casei (strain shirota) in apoe-deficient mice. methods: a total of 60 male apoe-deficient mice of 4 weeks age, were randomly divided into 4 groups of 15 each group and matched for body weight. four groups of apoe-deficient mice consumed one of the following diet: ain-93g purified diet (n=15); ain-93g purified diet with lactobacillus casei (strain shirota; 0.5 ml of 108 cfu/ml,n=15); ain-93g purified diet with lactobacillus casei (strain shirota; 0.5 ml of 1010 cfu/ml,n=15); ain-93g purified diet with lactobacillus casei (strain shirota; 0.5 ml of 1012 cfu/ml,n=15). results: after 16 weeks intervention, the areas of atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic sinus were determined. plaques were much more severe in control group than in lactobacillus casei-treated groups (p < 0.05). the plaque area of aortic sinus in mice fed lactobacillus casei with 0.5 ml of 108, 1010, or 1012 cfu/ml was 44.61%, 56.01%, 82.58% less compared with control group, respectively. compared with control group, total cholesterol accumulation in aortas and livers showed a significant reduction in mice fed with lactobacillus casei (p < 0.05). addition of lactobacillus casei also ameliorated serum lipid profile by decreasing total serum cholesterol and increasing hdl cholesterol concentration. conclusions: lactobacillus casei significantly improved lipid profile and reduced cholesterol accumulation in liver and aorta, leading the inhibition of the formation of atherosclerotic lesion. keywords: lactobacillus casei, atherosclerosis, apoe-deficient mice,cholesterol downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-04-27 issue vol. 4 no. 4 (2014): april 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com enhancing nutritional care with egg white supplementation on serum albumin level for home-based bed-ridden elderly patients | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 / research articles enhancing nutritional care with egg white supplementation on serum albumin level for home-based bed-ridden elderly patients authors preeyabhorn detarun center of excellence in functional food and gastronomy, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90110, thailand vatcharee srichamnanturakit center of excellence in functional food and gastronomy, faculty of agro-industry, prince of songkla university, hat yai, songkhla 90110, thailand sang-arun isaramalai faculty of nursing, prince of songkla university, hat yai campus, hat yai, songkhla 90110, thailand thaparat rakpanusit faculty of nursing, prince of songkla university, pattani campus, muang, pattani 94000, thailand doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i6.932 abstract background: low serum albumin levels are one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in humans, particularly in older bed-ridden patients. egg whites contains all the essential amino acids required, and it has many beneficial effects on the body. supplementation with an egg white formula diet is expected to improve nutritional status and increase levels of serum albumin. objective: this research aimed to investigate the effects of the egg white formula diet (ewfd) supplement on serum albumin levels in bed-ridden elderly patients with nasogastric tube feeding at home. methods: the experiment was designed as a quasi-experimental study with one single-sample group in 25 bed-ridden elderly patients who are > 60 years old, and were purposefully selected from a district in a province in southern thailand. the experiment was divided into 2 periods (the control and experimental). the control period covered the first 8 weeks where the caregivers provided the usual care and administered the commercial liquid formula to the bed-ridden elderly subjects. the experimental period covered the following 8 weeks, where the caregivers provided the usual care, commercial liquid formula, and ewfd supplementation. demographic data was collected using a data assessment form. the effect of ewfd supplement on blood albumin levels in the bed-ridden elderly persons were measured at baseline (t0), control (t8), and experimental period (t16). results: serum albumin levels at t0 in subjects who received the usual care program was an average of 3.46±0.35 g/dl. the average serum albumin level at the control period (t8) was 3.56±0.44 g/dl, while after the experiment (feeding including egg white for 8 weeks) was 3.72±0.45 g/dl. the serum albumin levels significantly increased compared to the control and experimental periods (p= 0.042)  conclusion: enhancing nutritional care through egg white supplementation improved the serum albumin levels in bed-ridden elderly patients at home. it is therefore recommended that the longitudinal study design should be implemented to monitor and maintain the serum albumin, which consequently promotes the patients’ nutritional status.   keywords: nutritional status; bed-ridden elderly; nasogastric tube feeding; bed-ridden; egg white; serum albumin; muscle mass downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-06-23 issue vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com can functional foods reduce the risk of disease? advancement of functional food definition and steps to create functional food products | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 5 (2021): may 2021 / perspective piece can functional foods reduce the risk of disease? advancement of functional food definition and steps to create functional food products authors danik martirosyan phd, functional food institute, dallas, tx usa hunter kanya camila nadalet doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i5.788 abstract the definition of functional foods (ffs) has been in development for many years by the functional food scientists of the functional food institute/functional food center (ffc). the status of the ffc’s definition is currently unrecognized by the food and drug administration (fda),but recognition is important for the safe, uniform development and disbursement of functional food products (ffps) that could improve the health of americans and people around the world struggling with chronic and viral diseases. if functional foods were to be properly termed using the ffc’s current definition, they would be classified as a drug according to the fda. thus, the ffc is in communication with governmental representatives to determine the next steps for functional foods to be properly acknowledged. to that end, the ffc is revising its current definition of functional foods to fit a more accurate and encompassing idea of the nature of what functional foods do. this includes a shift to stressing how functional foods promote optimal health, reduce the risk of chronic/viral disease, and manage their symptoms. additionally, the process of developing a functional food product must be standardized to ensure the safety of administering bioactive compounds as a health optimization tool. this process follows the methodology of functional food science, which is a potential new form of life science proposed by the functional food center. over time, the ffc has been developing the appropriate steps to create a functional food product, however, in this article, new steps are emphasized, such as epidemiological studies and after-market research—vital steps to ensuring the safest and most efficacious product is released to the public. functional foods are not meant to take the place of conventional medicine. they can, however, be used in conjunction with western medicine and serve as an aid to health optimization for people with chronic/viral diseases and prioritize the management of symptoms associated with those diseases. keywords: functional foods, bioactive compounds, biomarkers, functional food science, functional food products, epidemiological studies downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-05-10 issue vol. 11 no. 5 (2021): may 2021 section perspective piece license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com chemical composition, physicochemical evaluation and sensory analysis of yogurt added with extract of polyphenolic compounds from quercus crassifolia oak bark | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 / research articles chemical composition, physicochemical evaluation and sensory analysis of yogurt added with extract of polyphenolic compounds from quercus crassifolia oak bark authors eréndira valencia-avilés programa institucional de doctorado en ciencias biológicas, universidad michoacana de san nicolás hidalgo, ciudad universitaria, morelia, michoacán, méxico martha estrella garcía-pérez ma. guadalupe garnica-romo facultad de ingeniería civil. universidad michoacana de san nicolás de hidalgo juan de dios figueroa-cárdenas centro de investigación y de estudios avanzados del ipn. unidad querétaro. maria paciulli dipartimento di scienze degli alimenti e del farmaco, università di parma, parma, italy hector eduardo martinez-flores phd, professor and researcher, director of the faculty of chemical pharmacobiology doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i9.951 abstract introduction: a diet high in calories and saturated fats has been associated with health problems that have been increasing worldwide. therefore, it is required to increase the number of formulated foods that generate well-being to health. yogurt is a widely consumed food by all sectors of the population and it can be used as a vehicle to incorporate bioactive compounds. the phenolic compounds present in forest residues, such as those from oak bark, can be used and incorporated into yogurt, to increase its benefits as a functional food. objective: the objective of this study was to develop a multifunctional yogurt enriched with vegetable oil (2.3% w/w) as a source of omega 6 and 3 and adding nanocapsules (24.5% w/w) of an extract of oak bark from quercus crassifolia, rich in in phenolic compounds and high antioxidant capacity. methods: three yogurt formulations were prepared: f1: yogurt was made with non-fat milk, used as a control, f2: yogurt was prepared with non-fat milk and added with vegetable palm oil, and f3: non-fat yogurt was added with vegetable oil and nanoencapsulated oak bark phenolic extract. the yogurts were characterized in their chemical composition, microbiological analysis, and sensory analysis.  results: the multifunctional product f3 and product f2 presented lactic acid bacteria in concentration of 3.01x106 and 4.73x106, respectively, preserving characteristics of probiotic food. product f3 presented low levels of syneresis (7.34%) and it was significantly different from the control yogurt (9.01%). the viscosity increased from 150 cp in the control yogurt to 341 cp in f3, due to the increase in the concentrations of solids by nanoencapsulating the phenolic. the wall material used for nanoencapsulation was sodium caseinate and mantodextrin. however, this increase in viscosity did not affect the sensory evaluation of the product. there were no significant differences between the control yogurt and the f2 and f3 products. conclusion: a yogurt added with vegetable oil and nanoencapsulated oak bark phenolic extract was obtained. it was enhanced by the presence of probiotics, bioactive compounds, and essential fatty acids, and then evaluated and accepted by a sensory panel. nanoencapsulation is a viable alternative to mask the characteristic astringent taste of phenolic compounds because it was not detected by the panelists.   keywords: waste recovery; functional dairy foods; essential fatty acids; probiotics; antioxidants; sensory. author biographies eréndira valencia-avilés, programa institucional de doctorado en ciencias biológicas, universidad michoacana de san nicolás hidalgo, ciudad universitaria, morelia, michoacán, méxico universidad politécnica de uruapan. martha estrella garcía-pérez facultad de químico farmacobiología. universidad michoacana de san nicolás de hidalgo. hector eduardo martinez-flores, phd, professor and researcher, director of the faculty of chemical pharmacobiology facultad de químico farmacobiología. universidad michoacana de san nicolás de hidalgo. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-09-08 issue vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antimicrobial activity of moringa peregrina seed oil: chemical composition and effect of extraction procedure | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 / research articles antimicrobial activity of moringa peregrina seed oil: chemical composition and effect of extraction procedure authors abdalbasit adam mariod college of sciences and arts-alkamil, university of jeddah nahla abd elrhman elsayed osmana department of chemistry, sudan university of science and technology, khartoum, sudan essa esmail mohammad ahmad adepartment of chemistry, sudan university of science and technology, khartoum, sudan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i6.911 abstract background and objective: the importance of new sources of oils has recently emerged, one such source being moringa. there is an urgent need to choose the most appropriate extraction method regarding its impact on the properties and stability of the extracted oil.the objective of this research work is to study the impact of two extraction methods on the chemical and thermal properties as well as the antimicrobial activity of moringa peregrina seed oil. methods: moringa peregrina seeds were collected from their original growing locations in sudan. cold pressing (cp) and maceration inn-hexane (mh) was used to extract the oil, and their yields were found to be 9.12% and 21.87%, respectively. chemical properties of the oil were studied and in each case triplicate analyses were completed. the mean and the standard deviation were then determined (mean±sd). results: besides the peroxide value, the chemical properties of the oil extracted by the two methods remained relatively unchanged. additionally, the results revealed a higher activity of the cold pressed oil against all tested organisms (bacillus subtilis, staphylococcus aureus escherichia coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa, candida albicans) compared to the one obtained by maceration method. furthermore, the thermogravimetric analysis and derivative thermogravimetric analysis (tga and dtga) demonstrated significant variations in the onset of degradation between the oil samples extracted by the two methods: 200◦c (cold pressing) against 274◦c (maceration). the maximum mass loss for the oil extracted by the two methods does not differ significantly, and the final degradation temperature was similar.  conclusion: the differential scanning calorimeter (dsc) thermograms for the oil extracted by the two methods showed somewhat similar characteristics regarding the heating curves, while the cooling curves differed considerably.   keywords: antimicrobial activity;  cold press; maceration; moringa peregrina; thermal properties. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-06-23 issue vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com mushrooms as a functional food mediator in preventing and ameliorating diabetes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 4 (2011): april 2011 / review articles mushrooms as a functional food mediator in preventing and ameliorating diabetes authors pathirage kamal perera department of materia medica and pharmacology, institute of indigenous medicine, university of colombo, rajagiriya yunman li department of physiology, china pharmaceutical university, mailbox 207 tongjiaxiang 24, nanjing, jiangsu, 210009 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i4.133 abstract diabetes is a major health problem predisposing to markedly increased complications. despite the numerous preventative strategies and armories of medication, the management of diabetes remains grossly unsatisfactory. diabetes is emerging as a pandemic. therefore it is important to identify novel nutraceuticals or drugs for curing or preventing diabetes, which have fewer side effects. the present paper reviewed scientific information on mushrooms with regards to its anti-diabetic active compounds and/or pharmacological test results, which are commonly used as functional foods and ingredients used in the traditional medical system and which have demonstrated experimental or/and clinical anti-diabetic effectiveness. these functional foods might have a big potential for the prevention or cure of diabetes more than in other plant species. however, still scientific or clinical studies are not sufficient for hypoglycemic effect for mushrooms use as ‘official’ drug. therefore, it is proposed that a close attention be paid to carry out further research of functional mushrooms for preventive and curative measures for diabetes and its complications. keywords: diabetes, mushrooms, functional foods, hypoglycemic, and nutraceuticals downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-04-25 issue vol. 1 no. 4 (2011): april 2011 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a “paku-paku koubo-kun” containing yeast and mulberry extract postprandial glycemic control in healthy japanese men and women: a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 / research articles a “paku-paku koubo-kun” containing yeast and mulberry extract postprandial glycemic control in healthy japanese men and women: a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study authors junyoo takizawa mainichiegao.co.,ltd. asami baba orthomedico inc. tsuyoshi takara medical corporation seishinkai, takara clinic doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i3.1046 abstract objective: this study’s purpose was to verify the paku-paku koubo-kun (ppkk) containing yeast and mulberry extract concentrate’s effects on suppressing elevated postprandial blood glucose (pbg). methods: two randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover studies (trial-1 and trial-2) were conducted. both studies included healthy japanese adults with a maximum pbg concentration (cmax) in the range of 140–199 mg/dl. study subjects were randomly assigned to take ppkk or placebo food. then subjects consumed 200 g of cooked rice within 10 minutes of test food consumption. blood glucose (bg) levels were evaluated before intervention, and 30 min, 60 min, 90 min, and 120 min after consumption. the main endpoint was the incremental area under the curve (iauc) of pbg. results: the analysis included 36 subjects in trial-1 and 41 subjects in trial-2. a combined analysis (n = 71) was conducted. both individual studies and combined analysis showed that ppkk significantly reduced the iauc of pbg. in particular, bg levels were significantly lower at 30 min, 60 min, and 90 min after intervention. no adverse effects were identified.  conclusions:these results indicated that ppkk moderated the increase in pbg and enhanced glucose metabolism. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000042445 and umin000045341 foundation: mainichiegao co., ltd. keywords: postprandial blood glucose, yeast, mulberry, prediabetes, glycemic control author biographies junyoo takizawa, mainichiegao.co.,ltd. junyoo takizawa is the president of mainichiegao.co., ltd. he graduated in 1999 at the department of politics, faculty of law, hosei university. from 1999 to 2003, he was in charge of event planning, production and management at an advertising agency. then, from 2003 to 2005, he was in charge of product planning, advertising, and order management for a health food product electronic commerce company. in 2005, he founded the electronic commerce company for health food products, mainichigenki.co., ltd. later in 2011, he founded the electronic commerce company for health food products, mainichiegao.co., ltd. he is interested in the researches on the effects of nucleic acid on cognitive function, yeast on blood sugar, sedum sarmentosum on liver function, salvia miltiorrhiza on blood vessels, golden sea cucumber (cucumaria japonica) on cartilage of knee joint, and sake lees & hemerocallis fulva on sleep. he has been the executive director, committee on chinese medicine of world federation of chinese medicine societies since 2016. asami baba, orthomedico inc. asami baba (phd) is the manager of the clinical science division at orthomedico inc. she graduated in 2016 at the department of pediatrics, graduate school of medicine, nippon medical school. after graduation, she joined orthomedico inc. and has been responsible for designing and interpretation of results of clinical trials of foods on human. her current and previous research interests are antioxidative effect of foods, and evaluation of food functionality. she is member of 1) japan society for dementia research, 2) japan society for early stage of dementia, 3) japan society of nutrition and food science, and 4) japan society for bioscience, biotechnology, and agrochemistry. she also received young scientist award of 18th japan society for early stage of dementia. tsuyoshi takara, medical corporation seishinkai, takara clinic tsuyoshi takara (md) is the director of medical corporation seishinkai, takara clinic. he graduated in 1985 at st. marianna university school of medicine. from 1985 to 1991, he worked at the first department of surgery, st. marianna university school of medicine. then, from 1991 to 1995, he worked at mcgill university hospital center, mcgill, quebec, canada. afterward, from 1995 to 2002, he worked at the department of surgery, japan labour health and welfare organization, kanto rosai hospital. later in 2002, he opened cebu medical clinic. 4 years later in 2006, he changed the name of the said clinic to takara clinic. his current and previous research interests are immunotherapy, and evaluation of food functionality. he is member of the japanese society of anti-aging medicine, and the society for integrative medicine japan. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-03-31 issue vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effective body recomposition vs. misconceptions of the traditional weight loss strategies: trcap21 a novel technological breakthrough in body recomposition | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 / research articles effective body recomposition vs. misconceptions of the traditional weight loss strategies: trcap21 a novel technological breakthrough in body recomposition authors debasis bagchi college of pharmacy and health sciences, texas southern university bernard downs victory nutrition international, inc., department of r&d samudra banik department of microbiology, maulana azad college manashi bagchi dr. herbs llc, concord, ca, usa steve kushner alm r&d, oldsmar, fl, usa sanjoy chakraborty department of biological sciences, new york city college of technology/cuny, brooklyn, ny, usa bruce morrison morrison family and sports medicine, huntingdon valley, pa, usa stephen hesson pfhix inc., neenah, wi, usa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i4.905 abstract background: the prevalence of obesity has increased an astounding 30.5% to 42.2% over the last two decades despite numerous weight loss products and programs, thus qualifying it as an epidemic. fat is the lightest of macromolecules, the highest energy reserve of the body, and the last reservoir of survival insurance to be expended. water, muscle, and electrolytes are diminished prior to the expenditure of fat resources, the primary cause of rapid weight loss. contrary to popular belief that only “weight gain” is the sole and correct parameter for evaluating healthy body recomposition, there are no less than 10 additional factors that contribute to a reduction in metabolic rate and an increase in fat storage. these are mostly ignored from considerations regarding the etiology of obesity. our laboratory developed a novel formulation of d-ribose nicotinamide, alpha glycerol phosphorylcholine and four other evidence-based botanical constituents encapsulated in a prodosomedstimulantand sugar-free trcap21 (trimroxtm) formulation that effectively addresses those contributing factors. to investigate the feasibility of doing a 90-day randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled investigation, we conducted a 21-day concept validation pilot study on trcap21  in 9 subjects to assess changes in various body parts, including chest, upper arms, waist/belly, hips, and thighs, as well as body weight.  objective: this physician-supervised 21-day concept validation pilot study on trcap21 was conducted on 9 subjects to determine changes in anthropometric parameters including chest, upper arms, waist/belly, hips, and thighs, as well as body weight, and determine the effect of trcap21 on energy, mood, satiety, and sugar cravings. materials and methods: the study was conducted on nine male and female subjects (age: 47-70 years) to assess the efficacy of trimroxtm over a period of 21 consecutive days. body weights and anthropometric measurements were conducted at the initiation and termination of the study. the effect of trcap21 was evaluated on energy level, mood elevation, satiety level, sugar cravings, overall health, and adverse events in the subjects. results: the results demonstrated that all subjects experienced a reduction in size of one or more these body parts. in addition, it also led to significant improvements in mood elevation, satiety, reduced sugar cravings, elevated energy levels and overall mental and physical health. intake of 1 packet twice a day (bid) before meals resulted in a significantly greater reduction of body measurements than consuming it once a day (oid). surprisingly, body weight was reduced in all nine subjects from 2 lbs. to 11 lbs. the randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study is underway to confirm and further substantiate these findings.   conclusion: the trcap21 prodosomed nutraceutical formulation combines the evidence-based efficacy of 6 key constituents, mostly of botanical origin, that act synergistically to restore aerobic cellular metabolism, boost energy level, mood elevation, improve satiety, reduce sugar cravings, reduce body fat in various body compartments as well as weight and improve overall health. owing to the encapsulation of the components in unique concentric layers of liposome, their release takes place in a sustained and sequential manner.  it will be worthwhile to explore its effect on the gut-brain axis, especially the associated microbiome in order to obtain further insights to more accurately define the multiple mechanisms of action. keywords: obesity, weight management, body recomposition, aerobic body homeostasis, prodosome®, herbal nutraceuticals downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-04-27 issue vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com chemical composition of water buffalo milk and its low-fat symbiotic yogurt development | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 4 (2012): april 2012 / research articles chemical composition of water buffalo milk and its low-fat symbiotic yogurt development authors xue han college of food science and engineering, harbin institute of technology, harbin, 150090 frank l. lee department of nutrition and food sciences, 351 marsh life science building, university of vermont, burlington, vt 05405 lanwei zhang college of food science and engineering, harbin institute of technology, harbin, 150090 m. r. guo department of nutrition and food sciences, 351 marsh life science building, university of vermont, burlington, vt 05405 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i4.96 abstract background: water buffalos are the second most widely available milk source in countries around the world. while typical average milk compositions are readily available, information on seasonal variation in chemical composition of buffalo milk is limited -especially in the northeastern region of the united states. data collected in this study can be useful for the manufacture of a wide variety of specialty dairy products such as symbiotic buffalo milk yogurt. to analyze functionality, symbiotic low fat buffalo milk yogurt prototypes (plain and blueberry) were developed using a commercial starter containing probiotics. methods: during a one-year cycle, physicochemical and mineral contents of buffalo milk were analyzed. prototype yogurts were manufactured commercially and samples of the yogurt prototypes were analyzed for physicochemical and microbiological properties and for the survivability of probiotics during ten weeks of storage. results: average contents of total solids, fat, lactose, crude protein, ash, specific gravity, and conjugated linoleic acid in the milk ranged from 16.39-18.48%, 6.57-7.97%, 4.49-4.73%, 4.59-5.37%, 0.91-0.92%, 1.0317-1.0380%, and 4.4-7.6 mg/g fat, respectively. the average mineral contents of calcium, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and zinc in the milk were 1798.89, 1216.76, 843.72, 337.20 and 7.48 mg/kg, respectively, and remained steady throughout the year. the symbiotic low fat buffalo milk yogurts evaluated in this study contained higher amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and calcium than similar yogurts manufactured with cows’ milk. during refrigerated storage, the probiotic lactobacillus acidophilus was viable (>1×106 cfu/g) for the first two weeks, while bifidobacterium spp. and lactobacillus casei remained viable during the entire ten weeks. reducing the acidity and enhancing the flavor of the yogurts could improve the overall acceptability. conclusion: the results indicated that the low fat buffalo milk yogurt are a rich source of nutrients and are nutritionally preferable to cows’ milk yogurts. the shelf life analysis indicated it to be a good vehicle for developing symbiotic yogurt. keywords: buffalo milk, conjugated linoleic acid, symbiotic yogurt, probiotic survivability, physicochemical properties, acceptability downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-04-20 issue vol. 2 no. 4 (2012): april 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional and quality attributes of beef burgers fortified by brown linseed powder | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 / research articles functional and quality attributes of beef burgers fortified by brown linseed powder authors sara basiri mohamamd hashem yousefi seyed shahram shekarforoush doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i1.855 abstract background: beef burgers are a popular food all over the world. however, the high amounts of fat, low fiber, and frying process can cause concerns for consumers. in this study, the ability to replace some components of the burger formulation with brown linseed powder as a natural fiber has been investigated.  methods: the brown linseed at different concentrations (3, 4, and 5%) was added to the burger formulation, and its effect on the chemical, physical, nutritional, and sensory properties of raw and fried burgers were analyzed. results: linseed powder increased the protein and fat content and decreased the moisture of the raw burgers and fat absorption after frying. it also increased the ω3, ω6, and ω9 level; increased the pufa/sfa ratio; and reduced the ω6:ω3 fraction. improving the cooking yield and water holding capacity were other benefits of this fortification. the linseed did not change the texture and sensory properties of burgers, but it improved the flavor and general acceptance. conclusions: adding the linseed powder to the beef burger formulation is a good way for improving the yield and simultaneously improving the physicochemical property and nutritional value of the beef burger.   keywords: linseed powder, beef burger, fortification, omega-3, quality downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-01-10 issue vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com impact of an extract from the bran layer of rice on the nutrition of lactating mothers and growth of their exclusively breastfed infants: a longitudinal study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 5 (2022): may 2022 / research articles impact of an extract from the bran layer of rice on the nutrition of lactating mothers and growth of their exclusively breastfed infants: a longitudinal study authors guillermo e. sanchez sustainable nutrition international, usa, and central american institute for agriculture development (icada), guatemala, central america glenn h. sullivan nutraceutical technologies international, usa larry r. miller nutraceutical technologies international, usa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i5.934 abstract background: the nutritional composition of the bran layer of rice (rb), a globally available product of the rice milling process, has attracted attention as a nutraceutical food source. however, to capitalize on rb’s nutritional properties for humans, it is necessary to achieve a level of bioavailability that increases the efficacy needed to impact the nutritional well-being of lactating mothers and their breastfed infants. to accomplish this, a hydrolyzed enzymatic extract (rbee) with increased protein, vitamin, carbohydrate, and antioxidant bioactivity has been developed. objective: to determine the impact of rbee on the nutritional status of lactating mothers (lm) and the growth of their exclusively breastfed (ebf) infants, living in food-insecure environments in rural guatemala.  methods:  a rbee daily ration was consumed by post-puerperium lm for 4.5 months of the ebf period. the nutritional impact on lms was determined by body mass index (bmi). anemia prevalence and packed cell volume (pcv) were obtained via hematocrit (hct). infant growth was determined monthly following world health organization (who) guidelines, including weight-for-length (whz), weight-for-age (waz), length-for-age (laz), bmi-for-age (baz) and head circumference-for-age (hcz). initial, midterm and final growth indicators were analyzed by student t-test for independent samples.  results: while no significant differences were found between the initial and final bmi in lms, anemia prevalence was significantly reduced from 12.1% to 4%. hct results in lms showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in pcv by the study’s end, from 40.55% to 41.42%. following a student t-test analysis, infant growth indicators whz, waz and baz showed a highly significant (p<0.01) increase. a significant (p<0.05) improvement was detected in waz, while laz scores improved from -1.9 to -1.76. conclusions: the dietary supplementation of lactating mothers with an rbee during the ebf period significantly impacted the mother-infant dyad, with improved growth of the exclusively breastfed infants and a reduction in anemia prevalence in mothers. further research will include the quantity and quality of the putative increased maternal milk synthesis.    keywords: rice bran, bioactive, bioavailability, enzyme-treated extract, functional food, infants, exclusive breastfeeding, lactating mothers, anemia, chronic, acute, malnutrition, guatemala, growth, nutrition, children.   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-05-31 issue vol. 12 no. 5 (2022): may 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid on production of antibodies against classical swine fever live vaccine | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 / research articles effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid on production of antibodies against classical swine fever live vaccine authors eiji kobayashi department of kidney regenerative medicine, industry-academia collaborative department, the jikei university school of medicine. tokyo 105-8461, japan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8617-3778 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i11.838 abstract introduction: the aim of this study was to examine the effects of a bioactive compound, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ala), which has been reported to exhibit an immune-boosting effect, using a classical live swine fever (csf) vaccine experimental model in pigs.   methods: first, the effect of two different 5-ala doses was evaluated by measuring the blood csf viral load in male and female micro miniature pigs after vaccination with live vaccines. the csf vaccine had a low inducing effect on antibody production in females, which improved after administration of 5-ala by enhancing th2 immunity as indicated by elevated interleukin-10 levels. next, using male micro miniature pigs, the change in body weight was measured from the time before inoculation with the live vaccine to 28 days after inoculation, and the pattern of igm and igg antibody production after 5-ala administration was examined.  results: preventive doses of 5-ala enabled the continuous production of igg antibodies at the same rate as found in control pigs not receiving 5-ala; however, the switch to igg production was delayed during 5-ala treatment. oral administration of 5-ala kept the testing male pigs healthy, showing normal growth.  conclusions: this suggested that the heme synthesis-promoting effects of 5-ala simultaneously promoted the conversion of b cells into plasma cells. keywords: functional food, 5-ala, human equivalent dose, pig, classical swine fever  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-11-03 issue vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com serum levels of vitamin d, calcium, phosphorus, and oxidative parameters in healthy and diabetic people | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 5 (2021): may 2021 / research articles serum levels of vitamin d, calcium, phosphorus, and oxidative parameters in healthy and diabetic people authors maryam barghi department of biochemistry, faculty of veterinary medicine, shiraz university, shiraz, iran amir sadeghipoor ranjbar department of microbiology, faculty of enginearing, islamic azad university, sirjan branch, kerman, iran homa moazen department of biostatics and epidemiology, shahid sadoughi university of medical science, yazd, iran narges eskandari-roozbahani clinical research development center, imam reza hospital, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2509-9177 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i5.787 abstract introduction: diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that is a primary public health consideration. low vitamin d levels are linked to type 2 diabetes (t2dm), diminished insulin release, and enhanced insulin resistance in humans and animals. vitamin d is also involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphorus homeostasis. oxidative stress and antioxidant imbalances are important for the progression of diabetes as well. in this endeavor, the levels of vitamin d, calcium, phosphorus, and evaluation of the oxidantantioxidant factors of malondialdehyde (mda) and total antioxidant capacity (tac) in healthy and diabetic people were compared. methods: this descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2020 in shiraz, fars province, iran. the population included 40 t2dm patients (with hba1c equivalent 6-8) without comorbidities, 20-60 years old for both genders, and 40 healthy individuals (female and male between 20-60 years old without comorbidities). the high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc) method was adopted for measuring vitamin d and for measuring other levels, the colorimetric method was used. using spss 22, statistical analysis was performed. the mannwhitney u test for quantitative data was applied. p<0.05 was deemed significant. results: there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups when it came to the means of vitamin d and mda. in the diabetic group, vitamin d levels were lower (p=0.001) and mda levels were higher (p<0.001). comparing the level of calcium and phosphorus in diabetics and healthy people revealed no significant difference. this result was also true for the tac test. conclusions: according to our results, the mean of vitamin d in t2dm was significantly lower than healthy people and mda in t2dm significantly increased compared to the control group, suggesting that increasing the activity of this enzyme in the development of secondary complications in diabetic patients is a predisposing factor. keywords: vitamin d, diabetes mellitus, hplc, oxidative stress downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-05-19 issue vol. 11 no. 5 (2021): may 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com preliminary study on the in-vitro susceptibility of mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates to virgin coconut oil | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 8 (2012): august 2012 / research articles preliminary study on the in-vitro susceptibility of mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates to virgin coconut oil authors godofreda v. dalmacion university of the philippines-manila, college of medicine, 547 pedro gil, ermita 1000, manila adelwisa r. ortega university of the philippines-manila, college of public health, 547 pedro gil, ermita 1000, manila imelda g. pena 3university of the philippines, college of pharmacy, taft avenue, ermita 1000, manila concepcion f. ang university of the philippines-philippine general hospital, taft avenue,ermita 1000, manila doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i8.82 abstract background: tuberculosis remains a major public health threat. studies have shown that medium chain fatty acids (mcfa), such as, those found in virgin coconut oil (vco), possess activity against a wide range of microorganisms including mycobacterium tuberculosis. the goal of the study was to determine the in-vitro susceptibility of m. tuberculosis (tb) isolates to two commercial brands of vcos each containing different amounts of lauric acid and produced by two different extraction processes. two brands of vco were tested for their anti-tb actions compared to pure lauric acid and a negative control. two replicate runs were done. vco samples were inoculated with 0.1 ml of the h37rv strain of m. tuberculosis and incubated at 370c with shaking for 5 days. after incubation, the mixtures were diluted 10-fold up to 10-4 concentration to obtain countable colonies using middlebrook 7h10 agar plates and lowenstein-jensen (l-j) slants. colony growths of m. tuberculosis were examined in each dilution every week for three to eight weeks.   results: both brands of vco at increasing dilution from 1:10 to 1:10000 lowered the colony counts of m. tuberculosis by 46% to 100 % on the middlebrook 7h10 agar. similar results were noted on l-j slants with colony counts decreasing by 25% to 96%. lauric acid solution showed complete inhibition of bacterial growth in both the agar plates and lj slants. conclusion: different vco preparations containing different amounts of lauric acid exhibited different degree of inhibition against m. tuberculosis. the result of the study suggests the potential of vcos agent against the growth of m. tuberculosis similar effect on other organisms is a possibility and should also be explored. but more studies are needed to replicate the studies using different concentrations of vcos, lauric acid and other fatty acids in vco such as myristic acid, caproic or caprylic acids. key words: lauric acid, virgin coconut oil, tuberculosis, food supplement downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-08-30 issue vol. 2 no. 8 (2012): august 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com improvement of glucose metabolism and safety of acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 / research articles improvement of glucose metabolism and safety of acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial authors asami baba orthomedico inc. tomohiro hoshino sosuke ogawa tsuyoshi takara doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i9.822 abstract objective: acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, hypotensive effects, and improving skin condition, in addition to beneficial effects on blood glucose. herein, we evaluated the effects of acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins on fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels in healthy japanese adults with fasting blood glucose (fbg) levels between 110–125 mg/dl. methods: subjects were randomly allocated into 2 groups (n = 33 per group) and consumed 6 tablets/day of either tablets of acacia bark extract containing proanthocyanidins (acacia group) or placebo for 12 weeks. evaluation points were at the screening, and after 4-week (4w), 8-week (8w), and 12-week intervention (12w). the primary outcome was fbg level at 12 w, whereas the secondary outcomes were fbg level at 4w and 8w, the fbg changes from scr to each-week intervention, the percentage of subjects with fbg levels below 110 mg/dl after 12 w, the measured value and the change value from scr to each-week intervention of hba1c, the measured value and the change value from scr to each-week intervention of postprandial blood glucose levels. results: a total of 33 subjects (18 men, 15 women) from each group were analyzed. the acacia group had significantly lower fbg levels at 8 and 12 w than the placebo group (p = 0.030 and p = 0.014, respectively). the percentage of subjects with fbg <110 mg/dl at 12 w was marginally higher in the acacia group than in the placebo group (p = 0.079). hba1c at 12 w was significantly lowered in the acacia group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.015). conclusions: acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins were confirmed to have fbg-lowering effects. trial registration: umin000039414 foundation: acacia-no-ki co.,ltd. keywords: acacia bark extract, proanthocyanidins, fasting blood glucose level, hba1c downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-09-03 issue vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com starch digestibility and predicted glycemic index of fried sweet potato cultivars | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 7 (2012): july 2012 / research articles starch digestibility and predicted glycemic index of fried sweet potato cultivars authors amaka odenigbo department of bioresource engineering, mcgill university, 21111 lakeshore road, sainte-anne-de-bellevue, quebec, h9x 3v9 jamshid rahimi department of bioresource engineering, mcgill university, 21111 lakeshore road, sainte-anne-de-bellevue, quebec, h9x 3v9 michael ngadi department of bioresource engineering, mcgill university, 21111 lakeshore road, sainte-anne-de-bellevue, quebec, h9x 3v9 somaia amer department of animal science, mcgill university, 21111 lakeshore road, sainte-anne-de-bellevue, quebec, h9x 3v9 arif mustafa department of animal science, mcgill university, 21111 lakeshore road, sainte-anne-de-bellevue, quebec, h9x 3v9 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i7.83 abstract background: sweet potato (ipomoea batatas l.) is a very rich source of starch. there is increased interest in starch digestibility and the prevention and management of metabolic diseases. objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of starch fractions and predicted glycemic index of different cultivars of sweet potato. material and method: french fries produced from five cultivars of sweet potato (‘ginseng red’, ‘beauregard’, ‘white travis’, ‘georgia jet clone #2010’ and ‘georgia jet’) were used. the level of total starch (ts), resistant starch (rs), digestible starch (ds), and starch digestion index starch digestion index in the samples were evaluated. in vitro starch hydrolysis at 30, 90, and 120 min were determined enzymatically for calculation of rapidly digestible starch (rds), predicted glycemic index (pgi) and slowly digestible starch (sds) respectively. results: the rs content in all samples had an inversely significant correlation with pgi (-0.52; p<0.05) while rds had positive and significant influence on both pgi (r=0.55; p<0.05) and sdi (r= 0.94; p<0.01). ‘white travis’ and ‘ginseng red’ had higher levels of beneficial starch fractions (rs and sds) with low pgi and starch index (sdi), despite their higher ts content. generally, all the cultivars had products with low to moderate gi values. conclusion: the glycemic index of these food products highlights the health promoting characteristics of sweet potato cultivars. keywords: sweet potato, ipomoea batatas l, french fries, in vitro starch digestibility, glycemic index, resistant starch downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-07-28 issue vol. 2 no. 7 (2012): july 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com role of a novel nutraceutical composition for irritable bowel syndrome management: symptoms relief and unexpected triglycerides-lowering effect | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 / research articles role of a novel nutraceutical composition for irritable bowel syndrome management: symptoms relief and unexpected triglycerides-lowering effect authors antonella santonicola riccardo molinari gaetano piccinocchi andrea salvetti francesco natale vanvitelli cardiology unit, monaldi hospital, naples; italy giovanni cimmino doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i2.1068 abstract background: irritable bowel syndrome (ibs) is a functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort and an irregular bowel habit. the prevalence is up to 20% in western adults, which makes ibs the most common diagnosis in gastroenterology. despite extensive interest and investigation, ibs's precise aetiology and pathophysiology are poorly understood. current knowledge suggests that an altered gut microbiota, altered motility, visceral hyperalgesia, and dysregulation of the brain-gut axis are central to ibs. this is also significantly related to a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome and elevated triglycerides among the adult population. this retrospective study examines the effect of a novel nutraceutical compound, triobiotix, on gastrointestinal symptoms in ibs patients. effects on lipid profiles have also been recorded.  objectives: the focus of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of triobiotix, a nutraceutical compound composed of prebiotics and probiotics.  methods:triobiotix is a nutraceutical consisting of maltodextrin; mineralized extract of lithothamnion (lithothamnion calcareum (pallas) areschoug, thallus dry extract); bioecolians® gluco-oligosaccharides; ferment mix (corn starch, bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis blc1 (dsm 17741), lactobacillus acidophilus la3 (dsm 17742), lactobacillus rhamnosus imc 501 (dsm 16104), lactobacillus paracasei streptococcus 501 imc102 sp4 (dsm 19385); short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides powder. the database of 40 italian general practitioners (gps) was analyzed. a total of 587 patients with ibs treated with triobiotix were identified. among them, 535/587 (91.1%) completed the first (t0) and second (t1) visits and their data were available. the primary endpoint of this analysis was to assess if triobiotix, at a dosage of 1 sachet per day for 30 days, could reduce abdominal pain and bloating, thus resulting in a lower intensity of the main gastrointestinal symptoms. secondary endpoints were to evaluate presence of any significant changes in triglycerides blood levels and glycaemia. results: treatment with this nutraceutical for one month resulted in a reduction in the frequency and intensity of bloating, abdominal pain, flatulence, and tenesmus. in the 85 patients who reported evacuative urgency, the frequency of the episodes didn’t significantly change while their intensity was statistically reduced. unexpectedly, triglyceride levels also significantly decreased. conclusions:our analysis demonstrates this formulation is effective in the relief of the main symptoms associated with ibs. moreover, an unexpected effect of this combination of micronutrients on tryglicerides, beyond ibs symptoms, was also found. however, further studies are needed to confirm this evidence and to evaluate the particular compound responsible of this effect. keywords: irritable bowel disease; triglyceridemia; nutraceuticals downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-02-27 issue vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in vivo anti-carcinogenic property of a formulated citrus peel extract | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 4 no. 3 (2014): march 2014 / research articles in vivo anti-carcinogenic property of a formulated citrus peel extract authors michiko suzawa miyauchi citrus research center, ltd., 324-10 shigoka-machi, takasaki, gunma 370-0845 limin guo xinjiang academy of agricultural sciences, urumqi, xinjiang 830091 min-hsiung pan department of seafood science, national kaohsiung marine university, kaohsiung 811 chi-tang ho department of food science, rutgers university, new brunswick, nj 08901 shiming li hubei key laboratory of economic forest germplasm improvement and resources comprehensive utilization, huanggang normal university, huanggang, hubei doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i3.21 abstract background: cancer is one of the two leading fatal diseases humans face. synthesized drugs available for cancer intervention have many limitations in applications and effectiveness and are often associated with serious of side effects, which can further damage the patients’ quality of life.  recently, the development of natural-product-based and therapeutically sound anti-cancer agents have gained popularity in the fields of functional and medical foods, which may exhibit advantages of minimal toxicity and multiple active molecular components. citrus peel or its extract has been reported to have potent pharmacological activities and health benefits because of abundant flavonoids present in citrus fruits, particularly in the peels.  results: the results of these studies demonstrated the efficacy of gold lotion (gl), an extract of multiple varieties of citrus peels that contains abundant flavonoids, including a high percentage of polymethoxylflavones (pmfs), which can protect against skin cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer in mice.  these results are clearly promising and warrant a human trial with gl in future studies.  summary: briefly, these data have demonstrated that gl is efficacious in preventing and treating cancer in several model systems. this review summarizes the results of currently available data regarding the in vivo anti-cancer activity of gl, and identifies opportunities for subsequent human clinical trials to assess preventive and therapeutic effects in the near future. keywords: gold lotion, citrus peel extracts, skin cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2014-03-31 issue vol. 4 no. 3 (2014): march 2014 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of oral supplementation with pyrroloquinoline quinone on stress, fatigue, and sleep | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 2 no. 8 (2012): august 2012 / research articles effects of oral supplementation with pyrroloquinoline quinone on stress, fatigue, and sleep authors masahiko nakano 1niigata research laboratory, mitsubishi gas chemical company, inc., 182 shinwari, tayuhama, kita-ku, niigata 950-3112 tetsuro yamamoto ttc co., ltd., 1-20-2 ebisunishi, shibuya-ku, tokyo 150-0021 hisayoshi okamura cognitive and molecular institute of brain diseases, kurume university, 67 asahi-machi, kurume, fukuoka 830-0011 akira tsuda 4department of psychology, kurume university, 1635 miimachi, kurume 839-8502 yasuyuki kowatari ueno clinic, aisei hospital, 2-18-6 higashiueno, taito-ku, tokyo, 110-0015 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i8.81 abstract seventeen adult male and female subjects participated in a clinical trial using an open-label trial to evaluate the effectiveness of pyrroloquinoline quinone (pqq) on stress, fatigue, quality of life and sleep. they ingested 20 mg of pqq daily for 8 weeks. changes in stress, fatigue, quality of life measures and sleep were evaluated using various inventories and questionnaires. for example, the results of the profile of mood states-short form revealed that all six measures of vigor, fatigue, tension-anxiety, depression, anger-hostility and confusion were significantly improved following pqq administration compared with scores for those measures before administration of pqq. measures for quality of life, appetite, sleep, obsession and pain, also improved significantly. the results of the oguri-shirakawa-azumi sleep inventory (middle aged and aged version) showed significant improvement in sleepiness at awakening, sleep onset and maintenance, and sleep duration. for validation, the pittsburgh sleep quality index japanese version also showed significant improvement in sleep-related behavior. furthermore, the changes in these global scores were correlated with changes in the cortisol awakening response (r = -0.55), i.e. the effects of pqq on improvement of sleep quality are supported by a biomarker. keywords: pyrroloquinoline quinone, stress, fatigue, quality of life, sleep downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2012-08-31 issue vol. 2 no. 8 (2012): august 2012 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-allergic activity of an ethanol extract of bunching onion (allium fistulosum), a traditional vegetable from osaka | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 / research articles anti-allergic activity of an ethanol extract of bunching onion (allium fistulosum), a traditional vegetable from osaka authors tomoko jippo department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university yuko kobayashi department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university kosuke kitada research institute of environment, agriculture and fisheries, osaka prefecture koji kitsuda research institute of environment, agriculture and fisheries, osaka prefecture doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i3.900 abstract introduction: the incidences of allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, and food allergies are rising in developed countries. mast cells play critical roles in various biologic processes related to allergic diseases, including expressing the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin (ig) e on their surface. the interaction of multivalent antigens with surface-bound ige causes the secretion of granule-stored mediators, as well as the de novo synthesis of cytokines. these mediators and cytokines precede the development of allergic diseases. in osaka prefecture, japan, certain locally cultivated crops have received ‘naniwa-yasai’, a designation that certifies the significance of traditional vegetables in supporting osaka’s agriculture and cuisine for over a century. in this study, we investigated the anti-allergic effects of four traditional vegetables from osaka. results: the anti-allergic activity of extracts made from tanabe radish, moriguchi radish, bunching onion (allium fistulosum), and mizu eggplant were examined. various concentrations of each extract were added to rbl-2h3 mast cells prior to stimulation with the calcium ionophore a23187. β-hexosaminidase release was markedly and dose dependently decreased in mast cells following the addition of a. fistulosum, demonstrating its anti-allergic activity. none of the other vegetables had an anti-allergic effect on rbl-2h3 cells. conclusion: an osakan traditional vegetable, bunching onion (allium fistulosum), exhibited anti-allergic activity, and should be explored further as a possible treatment for allergic diseases. keywords: mast cell, anti-allergy, traditional vegetables, bunching onion (allium fistulosum) author biography tomoko jippo, department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university department of food and nutrition, faculty of human life sciences, senri kinran university, downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-03-15 issue vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com spermidine content of selected dietary supplements: potential for improvement? | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 5 (2023): may 2023 / review articles spermidine content of selected dietary supplements: potential for improvement? authors philipp steichen karin gruber berit hippe alexander haslberger doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i5.1102 abstract dietary spermidine is emerging as a substance with promising health-promoting and healthy ageing-promoting properties. its autophagy-inducing potential has been especially well-documented. this process is suspected to be at the root of the life-prolonging effects of fasting and in-vivo spermidine supplementation. in humans, high dietary spermidine intake is associated with a lifespan increase of 5.7 years. numerous studies provide indications of its effects on the cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems as well as on the formation and development of tumors. nevertheless, no health claims are currently authorized in the eu for spermidine or spermidine-rich functional foods. when ingested through food or dietary supplements, dosage appears to play an important role in replicating the favorable effects. currently, there are ongoing proceedings regarding the novelty of a certain manufacturing process of spermidine supplements, but many other plant extracts with high spermidine content from different sources are marketed without the need for novel food authorization.  this article discusses the varying test results obtained for the spermidine concentration of popular spermidine supplements. soybean extract seems to be slightly superior in terms of spermidine concentration, but one wheat germ-based product stood out in this analysis due to a 10 times higher spermidine concentration than comparable products. keywords: spermidine, food supplements, novel food, botanicals, functional foods, autophagy, spermidine-rich wheat germ extract  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-05-15 issue vol. 13 no. 5 (2023): may 2023 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com spirulina, wakame or goji berries do not lower markers of low-grade systemic inflammation in healthy subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 / research articles spirulina, wakame or goji berries do not lower markers of low-grade systemic inflammation in healthy subjects authors jose j. van den driessche maastricht university ronald p. mensink maastricht university jogchum plat department nutrition and movement sciences maastricht university maastricht, the netherlands doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i12.853 abstract introduction: we have earlier reported that consumption of the algae spirulina (arthrospira platensis or maxima) and wakame (undaria pinnatifida) for 17 days, and a single dose of goji berries (lycium barbarum) did not affect fasting or postprandial cvd risk markers in healthy subjects. however, evidence is increasing that low-grade systemic inflammation is also an important marker for cvd risk. based on information from in vitro and animal studies, we hypothesize that both consumption of the algae spirulina and wakame as well as a single dose of goji berries lowers markers for low-grade inflammation.    methods: two randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trials were performed. in the algae study, 35 non-hypercholesterolemic, healthy subjects consumed 4.8 grams of spirulina, wakame or placebo for 17 days, separated by 14-day washout periods. after 17 days, fasting serum tnfα, il-6, il-8, and hscrp concentrations were measured. in the goji berry study, 17 healthy, overweight men received a mixed meal with or without 25 grams of dried goji berries. before and up to 4 hours after meal intake, serum concentrations of tnfα, il-6 and il-8 were measured.        results: consumption of spirulina or wakame did not affect serum concentrations of tnfα, il-6, il-8 or hscrp. in the goji berry study, serum il-6 and il-8 concentrations increased postprandially. for il-8, these increases were more pronounced after the goji berry meal compared to the control meal (p = 0.003). no effects on tnfα were observed.  conclusion: 17 days of spirulina or wakame consumption, or a single dose of goji berries did not lower markers of low-grade systemic inflammation in healthy, non-immunocompromised subjects. it is plausible that anti-inflammatory effects of these interventions can only be expected in subjects with an inflammatory risk. keywords: spirulina, wakame, goji berries, low-grade systemic inflammation, cytokines downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-11-24 issue vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com total dietary fiber, and selected vegetable, fruit, legume and cereal fiber intake and risk of heart attack in periodontitis subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 / research articles total dietary fiber, and selected vegetable, fruit, legume and cereal fiber intake and risk of heart attack in periodontitis subjects authors nelson wood department of periodontics and preventive dentistry, university of mississippi, school of dentistry jackson, ms doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i10.116 abstract background: epidemiological studies have found an association between periodontal disease and coronary artery disease(arbes, slade et al. 1999; beck, elter et al. 2001; genco, offenbacher et al. 2002), and have even implicated periodontal disease as a risk factor(arbes, slade et al. 1999; beck, elter et al. 2001), however have not proven causality(hujoel, drangholt et al. 2000). although dietary amounts, sources, and types (soluble versus insoluble) of fiber have been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack (liu, buring et al. 2002; negri, vecchia et al. 2003), this author is unaware of studies that have examined the association between food sources of dietary fiber and heart attack risk in subjects with periodontitis. this study was designed to determine whether total dietary fiber and fiber from different plant sources (vegetables, fruits, legumes, or cereals) modified self-reported ha risk, as well as acute-phase inflammatory responses in subjects with periodontitis using nhanes iii data. objectives: the objective of this study was to investigate the association between total dietary fiber intake levels, and selected vegetables, fruits, legumes, and cereal fiber intake and the risk of self-reported history of heart attack (ha) in periodontitis subjects using data available in the third national health and nutrition examination survey (nhanes iii). materials and methods: adult participants in nhanes iii were used in this study. zero to thirty three (0-33) percent of sites with periodontal attachment loss > 3 mm was considered a healthy periodontium, while greater than thirty three percent (>33) of sites with periodontal attachment loss of > 3 mm as periodontitis. the outcome variable was the self-reported history of ha. total dietary fiber, and monthly selected vegetable, fruit, legume and cereal consumption were divided into low and adequate levels. data was analyzed by kruskal-wallis, anova and multivariate analyses using spss ®. p<0.05 was used to reject the null hypothesis. results: individuals with periodontitis, that consumed low levels of the selected vegetables and fruits had a significantly increased risk of self-reported ha for: low total dietary fiber intake levels(p<0.005); low levels of selected vegetables low broccoli and any other vegetables(p<0.01); brussels sprouts, carrots, cabbages, spinach and tossed salads(p<0.05), and low selected fruits – citrus fruits, peaches/nectarines and any other fruits(p<0.05), adjusting for confounders of both diseases and energy (kcal). adjusting the model further for serum antioxidants, dietary cholesterol and other fat intake maintained a significantly higher ha risk for: low total dietary fiber intake levels(p<0.05); low levels of selected vegetables low broccoli, spinach(p<0.05) and any other vegetables(p=0.05); but significantly increased ha risk with low all-bran cereal(p<0.05). serum crp and creatinine, and plasma fibrinogen, were significantly affected by fiber quantity and source in periodontitis versus healthy periodontium subjects, and in periodontitis and healthy periodontium subjects individually(p<0.05) conclusions: it is theorized that subjects with periodontitis that consume inadequate levels of total dietary fiber, and inadequate fiber from selected vegetables, fruits, legumes, and cereals are likely to increase their risk of heart attack. keywords: dietary fiber, periodontitis, heart attack downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-10-22 issue vol. 1 no. 10 (2011): october 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com safety of dietary undenatured type ii collagen: a pilot open-label overdose clinical investigation | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 / research articles safety of dietary undenatured type ii collagen: a pilot open-label overdose clinical investigation authors yoshiaki shiojima megumi takahashi ryohei takahashi hiroyoshi moriyama kazuo maruyama debasis bagchi manashi bagchi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i3.897 abstract background: in advancing age population worldwide, joint discomfort and poor locomotive functions are symptoms, which are often detected. aggravation of such symptoms potentially develops into osteoarthritis (oa) as characterized by the loss of articular cartilage in the joints of the hand, spine, knee, foot, and hip. for joint health complications, selected functional foods are frequently supplemented orally to alleviate such symptoms. in japan, foods with function claims (ffc) regulatory system is now positioned within the framework of “so-called health foods” allowing to make functional claims such as brain health and weight control claims. moreover, a wide variety of knee joint care ffc products are presently available in the marketplace and have attracted much attention of the elderly people, expecting improvements in joint locomotive functions such as walking, sitting, standing, and climbing the stairs for the quality of life (qol). supplementation of undenatured type ii collagen powder (next-ii®) in hard capsules has been clinically proven to improve such joint functions fulfilling part of the ffc rigorous guidelines, while ensuring adequate safety as foods is a crucial prerequisite for filing ffc product dossier. methods: twenty-two healthy male and female volunteers (age = 20-74 years) participated in this pilot open-label overdose clinical trial over a period of 4 consecutive weeks. all subjects were also monitored and assessed additional 2 weeks after the completion of the next-ii® supplementation period as washout or supplement-free period. subjects took a 10-fold (10-x) dose of next-ii® (400 mg next-ii/day containing 32 mg of undenatured type ii collagen/day). daily recommended dose of next-ii® is 40 mg/day (containing 3.2 mg of undenatured type ii collagen/day) after breakfast. physical health examination, hematological analysis, blood ,biochemistry examination, and urinalysis were performed. all subjects completed the supplementation of next-ii® for 4 weeks and had additional 2 weeks of washout or supplement-free period. all subjects recorded daily diaries.  results: results demonstrated no significant differences at 0 week (baseline), 2 weeks, and 4 weeks of next-ii®supplementation. furthermore, no significant differences were observed even after 2 weeks of the washout period. no adverse events were observed. conclusions: supplementation of 10-fold dose of next-ii® to the volunteers was well-tolerated and exhibited the broad-spectrum safety without observing any adverse effects in healthy japanese subjects. keywords: undenatured type ii collagen, next-ii®, safety, overdose supplementation, clinical study, foods with function claims (ffc) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-03-04 issue vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com plant flavonoids as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in regulation of hypertension | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 1 no. 5 (2011): may 2011 / research articles plant flavonoids as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in regulation of hypertension authors b. w. nileeka balasuriya department of environmental sciences, nova scotia agricultural college, po box 550, truro, nova scotia b2n 5e3 h. p. vasantha rupasinghe department of environmental sciences, nova scotia agricultural college, po box 550, truro, nova scotia b2n 5e3 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v1i5.132 abstract background: angiotensin converting enzyme (ace) is a key component in the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (raas) which regulates blood pressure. as the over expression of raas is associated with vascular hypertension, ace inhibition has become a major target control for hypertension. the research on potential ace inhibitors is expanding broadly and most are focused on natural product derivatives such as peptides, polyphenolics, and terpenes. plant polyphenolics are antioxidant molecules with various beneficial pharmacological properties. the current study is focused on investigating and reviewing the ace inhibitory property of fruit flavonoids. an apple skin extract (ase) rich in flavonoids, the major constituents of the extract and their selected metabolites were assessed for the ace inhibitory property in vitro. it is important to investigate the metabolites along with the flavonoids as they are the constituents active inside the human body. objective: to investigate whether flavonoids, flavonoid rich apple extracts and their metabolites could inhibit ace in vitro. method: the samples were incubated with sodium borate buffer (30 µl, ph 8.3), 150 µl of substrate (hip-his-liu) and ace (30 µl) at 37 oc for 1 h. the reaction was stopped by addition of 150 µl of 0.3m naoh. the enzyme cleaved substrate was detected by making a fluorimetric adduct by adding 100 µl of o-phthaladehyde for 10 min at room temperature. reaction was stopped by adding 50 µl of 3m hcl. fluorescence was measured by using a fluostar optima plate reader at excitation of 350 nm and emission of 500 nm. results: the extract and the compounds showed a concentration dependant enzyme inhibition. increasing concentrations from 0.001 ppm to 100 ppm of ase showed an increment of 29% to 64% ace inhibition. the ic50 (concentration of test compound which gives 50% enzyme inhibition) values of ase, quercetin, quercetin-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-galactoside, cyanidin-3-galactoside were 49 µg/ml, 151 µm, 71 µm, 180 µm, 206 µm, respectively. the major constituents of the ase that were tested separately showed effective ace inhibition. from the three metabolites tested, only quercetin-3-glucuronic acid showed concentration dependant ace inhibition. the ace inhibition of 0.001 ppm to 100 ppm of quercetin-3-glucuronic was in the range of 43% and 75% and the ic50 value was 27 µm.  conclusion: the results demonstrated that flavonoids have a potential to inhibit ace in vitro and the inhibitory property varies according to type of sugar moiety attached at c-3 position. the results also revealed that the major contributing compounds of ase for ace inhibition belong to flavonoids. among the tested compounds, the lowest ic50 value is associated with the quercetin-3-glucuronic acid, a major in vivo metabolites of quercetin and its glycosides. the results suggest that certain dietary flavonoids may possess properties of blood pressure regulation. key words: hypertension, renin angiotensin system (ras), angiotensin converting enzyme (ace), flavonoids, apple downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2011-05-08 issue vol. 1 no. 5 (2011): may 2011 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of kefir consumption on carbohydrate profile of mother’s milk | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 / research articles effects of kefir consumption on carbohydrate profile of mother’s milk authors tuğçe tok kurt suleyman demirel university, department of food engineering isparta 32260 turkey çağlar gökırmaklı suleyman demirel university, department of food engineering isparta 32260 turkey zeynep b guzel-seydim suleyman demirel university, department of food engineering isparta 32260 turkey doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i9.819 abstract background: human milk contains the nutrients necessary for the growth and development of babies as it contains essential bioactive components to support the immune system. galactooligosaccharides which are important indigestible prebiotics, help multiply the growth of beneficial microorganisms selectively and inhibit the growth of the pathogenic organism. the nutrition of the mother is essential since it affects the composition of mother’s milk. kefir affects the digestive system, lactose intolerance immune system, anti-microbial effects, probiotic and prebiotic features. however, there is no report on how kefir consumption may have effects on composition of mother’s milk. in this aspect, this study aimed to determine the effects of kefir consumption on the carbohydrate profiles of the mother’s milk.  methods: this study started immediately after birth, mothers were fed with 500 ml/day of kefir made from kefir grains for 30 days in the kf group. mothers who are in the control group (ki) continued their regular diet. mother’s milk was collected on the 10th, 20th, and 30th day and stored at 4ºc. carbohydrate profile including gos was determined using the liquid chromatographic method with the hi-plex column. results: the mean lactose concentrations of mother’s milk who consumed kefir were 4,68; 4,72; 5,89 g/100ml on days 10th, 20th, and 30th, respectively. glucose concentrations were 0,29; 0,08; 0,21 g/100ml on 10th, 20th, 30th days, respectively. for the mother’s milk samples in the control group, the averages of lactose concentration were 5,42; 5,73; 5,51 g/100ml on days 10th, 20th, and 30th. gos peaks were specified depending on the rich content of prebiotics.  conclusion: consumption of authentic kefir may have effect on carbohydrate profile, including gos of mother’s milk.   keywords: human milk, kefir, prebiotic, galactooligosaccharides     downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-09-14 issue vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of luteolin-rich chrysanthemum flower extract on purine base absorption and blood uric acid in japanese subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 / research articles effects of luteolin-rich chrysanthemum flower extract on purine base absorption and blood uric acid in japanese subjects authors tsuyoshi takara takara clinic, medical corporation seishinkai kazuo yamamoto orthomedico inc. naoko suzuki orthomedico inc. shin-ichiro yamashita orthomedico inc. shin-ichiro iio orthomedico inc. toshihiro kakinuma asami baba orthomedico inc. shogo takeda oryza oil & fat chemical co. ltd. wakana yamada masafumi nagata minamimachi clinic hiroshi shimoda oryza oil & fat chemical co. ltd. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i1.863 abstract background and objective: chrysanthemum flowers are consumed as fresh condiments, herbal teas, and processed foods in japan and taiwan. they contain luteolin as a major polyphenol and are traditionally used for eye care. we previously demonstrated that the ingestion of chrysanthemum flower extract (cfe) for 1 month reduced serum uric acid levels. however, the findings obtained were considered to be biased because the study was performed by a cfe manufacturer. therefore, we herein conducted a clinical trial on cfe on a larger scale and examined its effects on purine base absorption from the intestines, which represents an effective approach for reducing serum uric acid levels.  methods: both studies were performed as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and cfe (100 mg) containing 1 mg of luteolin was used as the active sample. we enrolled 44 healthy japanese men and women with 6.0 to 7.9 mg/dl serum uric acid. all subjects were randomly allocated to an active group (n=22) or placebo group (n=22) using a computerized random number generator. in the purine base absorption study, cfe was ingested with a purine base-rich diet and serum uric acid levels were measured chronologically. in the 12-week consecutive ingestion study, cfe or placebo was administered between january and april 2021. serum uric acid levels after 12 weeks were assessed as the primary outcome, and uric acid were measured before and after 4 weeks of the intervention as secondary outcomes. blood, urine and body parameters were examined to evaluate the safety of cfe.  results: thirty-nine subjects completed the trial, and the per protocol set comprised 18 and 21 subjects in the active and placebo groups, respectively. in the single dosing study of cfe on subjects loaded by the purine base-rich diet, no significant changes were observed between the cfe and placebo groups. on the other hand, in the 12-week ingestion study, serum uric acid levels were significantly lower in the cfe group than in the placebo group. laboratory tests revealed no abnormalities to suggest any side effects of cfe. conclusions: cfe (100 mg/day) containing 1 mg of luteolin reduced serum uric acid levels. cfe may be beneficial for improving hyperurichemia.  trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000042327 foundation: the present study was funded by oryza oil & fat chemical co., ltd.  keywords: chrysanthemum, luteolin, uric acid, purine base author biographies tsuyoshi takara, takara clinic, medical corporation seishinkai md hiroshi shimoda, oryza oil & fat chemical co. ltd. ph.d. manager downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-01-10 issue vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com agave syrup as a replacement for sucrose: an exploratory review | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 / review articles agave syrup as a replacement for sucrose: an exploratory review authors rizwan yargatti arti muley doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i10.1003 abstract sucrose in its various forms has become an important part of our daily intake. apart from sweetness, it also provides structure, and stability and plays important role in the appearance of the final product. sucrose is widely used in the production of sweets, desserts, and beverages, however, the various effects of high consumption of sucrose, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic disorders are of concern. thus, in the present review, we have tried to summarize the usability of an alternative to sucrose. we explore the possibility of agave, a native plant from mexico, and its by-products (agumiel, agave syrup, etc) as a healthy alternative to sucrose in the food industry in this paper. this study uses google scholar to review the history, properties, production, regulations, studies, and commercial adaptation of agave in different food products. chemical, physical, and biological properties are explored of the two most widely used varieties (agave tequilana & agave salmiana). the findings indicate that agave has a long consumption history. though the production is being regulated by the mexican government, adulteration and fake labels are a concern. recent animal studies have proved its safety, while long-term human benefits could be the scope of future studies. the authors conclude that agave has good potential to replace sucrose shortly although long-term health benefits need acute exploration for it to be a suitable substitute for sucrose in order to reduce the risk of diet-related disorders. keywords: agave; natural sweeteners; sucrose replacement; commercialization; new product development. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-10-21 issue vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com curcumin exerts a protective effect against obesity and liver injury induced by an atherogenic diet | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 / research articles curcumin exerts a protective effect against obesity and liver injury induced by an atherogenic diet authors maría eugenia antona paula mariela gonzález cecilia ramos joaquín cabrera carolina olano celina morales valeria zago tammy steimetz susana puntarulo silvia maría friedman elisa vanesa macri doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i12.862 abstract background: curcumin (cur) is a natural yellow polyphenol extracted from the turmeric rhizome (curcuma longa). cur is known for its potential therapeutic properties as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, and anti-mutagenic, although some of these biological activities remain unproven. epidemiological studies have shown a positive relationship between high-fat diets and diet-related chronic diseases. we hypothesized that some adverse effects of consuming atherogenic or high-fat diets (ad) can be ameliorated by cur supplementation. using an experimental model of rats, this study investigated the significance of cur when it is given as a supplement in an ad. methods: healthy adult wistar rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups. controls (c) received a standard diet and experimental rats were fed with ad or ad+cur for 5 weeks. cur (100 mg/kg body weight) was given orally daily, plus piperine (5 mg/kg body weight). the effect of cur supplementation was studied on zoometrics, visceral fat content, serum lipids profile, hepatosteatosis, liver function and oxidative status.  results: diets did not alter energy consumption. as compared to the other groups, ad+cur group showed a lower total visceral fat content, percentage of perirenal, mesenteric, and pelvic fat, and body weight gain (p< 0.05). serum total cholesterol (p<0.0001), non-hdl-c (p<0.0001) levels were significantly higher in ad groups as compared with c. serum triglycerides and hdl-c levels remained similar among groups (p>0.05). ad induced a liver injury with macrovesicular steatosis and portal inflammation. ad+cur rats presented microvesicular steatosis with no inflammation, achieving the lowest level of alanine aminotransferase (alt; p<0.0001) and reductions of aspartate aminotransferase (ast; p<0.0001). liver homogenates from ad+cur showed that cur supplementation reduced the dichlorofluorescein diacetate (dcfh-da) oxidation rate induced by ad by 25 % and deferoxamine and superoxide dismutase inhibited dcfh-da.  conclusion: cur as a dietary supplement showed a protective effect against obesity and inflammation, but its cardioprotective ability remained unproved. cur may develop as a promising therapeutic agent for liver diseases induced by oxidative stress. this study provides supporting evidence to confirm the beneficial effects of curcumin from the point of view of functional food science.   keywords: curcumin, liver injury, ros, atherogenic diet, visceral fat, obesity  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-12-21 issue vol. 11 no. 12 (2021): december 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com mediterranean diet and health – a narrative review | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 / review articles mediterranean diet and health – a narrative review authors vered kaufman-shriqui daniela abigail navarro hagit salem mona boaz doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i9.989 abstract the mediterranean diet is a dietary pattern characterized by increased intake of olive oil, vegetables, fruits, cereals, nuts and pulses/legumes; as well as moderate intake of fish and other meat, dairy products and red wine. this dietary pattern has been associated with reduced risk for non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, certain cancers, and dementia. the importance of modifying lifestyle risk factors to reduce these diseases is evidence by the increased obesity rates and aging of the global population. to examine associations between adherence to the mediterranean diet and non-communicable disease risk. there is evidence supporting a role for the mediterranean diet in primary and secondary non-communicable disease prevention; furthermore, the mediterranean diet has been associated with reduced all-cause mortality. conclusions: the mediterranean diet is associated with demonstrable and measurable health benefits, including non-communicable disease prevention and reduced mortality risk. the mediterranean diet is frequently consumed by individuals in blue zones. keywords: mediterranean diet; olive oil; non-communicable disease risk downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-09-02 issue vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com comparing the fda's process for health claim submission and the ffc's guidelines for regulating functional foods | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 / research articles comparing the fda's process for health claim submission and the ffc's guidelines for regulating functional foods authors sarah stratton danik martirosyan phd, functional food institute, dallas, tx, united states doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i9.1228 abstract health claims are essential for providing accurate information about the relationship between nutrients and health outcomes to consumers. they facilitate informed decision-making and support individuals in making healthy dietary choices. the u.s. food and drug administration (fda) regulates health claims to guide consumers in maintaining healthy dietary practices. health claims on food labels help consumers understand the potential health benefits associated with specific products and make informed choices aligned with their health goals. these claims also promote transparency and trust in the food industry by providing evidence-based information. the process of submitting a health claim to the fda involves complying with regulatory requirements and providing robust scientific evidence. scientific evidence plays a crucial role in substantiating health claims and should be based on well-designed clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and mechanistic research. adhering to fda labeling requirements ensures the accurate and informative presentation of health claims on food labels. the functional food center (ffc) is working on theoretical aspects of creating ideal functional food (ff) products as well as how these products should be identified with special ff labels. while the fda focuses on evaluating health claims, the ffc emphasizes the safe and effective use of functional foods. understanding the fda's evaluation process and the ffc's guidelines is crucial for researchers, food manufacturers, and policymakers to navigate the regulatory landscape and promote informed consumer choices. compliance with regulatory guidelines, adherence to scientific standards, and clear communication of health claims contribute to a more informed and health-conscious society. keywords: health claims, health outcomes, regulatory requirements, functional foods, health benefits downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-09-11 issue vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com adjuvant benefit of a peptide-rich marine biology formula (ld1227) in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 / research articles adjuvant benefit of a peptide-rich marine biology formula (ld1227) in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled study authors lorenzetti aldo senior researcher, regenera intl. aging intervention solimene umberto who-collaborating center for who-cntr fortraditional medicine & biotechnology, university of milano, milano, italy rastmanesh reza the nutrition society, london, uk francesco marotta n/a fang he department of nutrition and food hygiene, west china school of public health and west china fourth hospital, sichuan university, sichuan china rasulova s aperio cristiana senior researcher, regenera intl. aging intervention anzulovic nevenka researcher, regenera intl. aging intervention. zerbinati nicola department of medicine and surgery, university of insubria, varese, italy. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i9.960 abstract introduction. there is a growing interest on non-chemical therapies among patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (ra), although safety, efficacy and properly designed studies are often lacking.  objective. the aim of the present investigation was to explore the clinical effectiveness of a marine nutraceutical, ld-1227, endowed by fine molecular biology studies, in the management of ra.  methods. the study design was a 12-week, randomized, double-blind study involving forty patients with stable long-standing ra who were randomized to receive either ld-1227 (n = 20) or omega-3 (n = 20) on top of their established maintenance therapy.  results. at study recruitment and after 12 weeks of treatment, their health assessment questionnaire (haq), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (esr), visual analogue scale (vas), and disease activity score (das) 28, anxiety and depression analysis, c-reactive protein (crp) levels, cxcl1, several pro-inflammatory interleukins levels and related gene expression, were compared between the two groups. primary end point was the proportion of patients with response at weeks 12 as from the 20 % to 50% improvement criteria of the american college of rheumatology (acr20). at 12 weeks, acr20 beneficial response was 81.0 % in ld-1227 group and 44 % in omega-3 group, (p< 0.01). the superiority of ld-1227 appeared also when considering the acr50 response at 12 weeks (62% in ld-1227 group as compared to 31 % in omega-3 group, p< 0.01). the ld-1227-treated group displayed a significant improvement of vas scale, haq score, morning stiffness and tender points (p < 0.01 vs control and p < 0.05 vs omega-3, respectively). from the biochemical viewpoint, patients in the ld-1227 group showed a lower level of crp, il-6, tnf-α, il-1β, cxcl1, ifnγ, il-15 and ip-10 and significant downregulation of related gene expressions. unlike what observed in ld-1227 group, in the omega-3 group, crp and das28 did not reach statistical difference. a substantial reduction of extra pain killer use was noted under ld-1227 treatment.  conclusion. one can conclude that ld-1227 may play a significant role on the management of ra and with a specrum and mechanisms of actions distinct from the canonical omega-3 while being devoid of any side effect or tolerability issues. keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, cytokines, omega-3, marine peptides, inflammation, pain, gene expression downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-09-07 issue vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of raphanus sativus on glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides levels in glucose loaded rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 / research articles effect of raphanus sativus on glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides levels in glucose loaded rats authors rehab omer elnour omar musa ezzeldin abdalbasit adam mariod reem hassan ahmed ahlam salih eltahir doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i3.883 abstract background: in fact, diabetes is now a serious health concern, and the import of medications from other countries consumes a significant amount of foreign cash each year. the effects of raphanus satives (radish) in the treatment of diabetes mellitus were evaluated scientifically in this study. thyroid hormone increases metabolic actions in almost every tissue, and the current study was an attempt to evaluate scientifically the effects of raphanus satives (radish) in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. objectives: the main objective of this study is to evaluate the hypoglycemic effect of raphanus sativus (radish) on induced hyperglycemic rats. methods: an oral administration of ethanolic extract of radish in glucose loaded rats at dose of 250mg/k body weight,  standard group was administered with 10mg/kg of hypoglycemic drug glibenclamide for 2 consecutive weeks. the control group was given distilled water only. after the two weeks' time, the groups were subjected to a glucose tolerance test and measurement of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels.  results: significant reduction of blood glucose was observed (p <0.001), when compared with the control group at 2 hours after glucose loud. radish ethanolic extract did not present any significant difference in cholesterol level after 2 weeks compared with start point. no significant difference was seen in triglyceride level after 2 weeks of administration of radish extract compared with start point. radish extract(250 mg/kg) did not affect kidney function  creatinin and urea, also liver  function were not affected glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (got), glutamic-pyruvate transaminase (gpt), albumin, total protein and bilirubin, this means administration of increased doses to hyperglycemic subjects can be considered safe.  conclusion: in this investigation, doses of radish extract (250 mg/kg) had no effect on renal function, creatinin, and urea, as well as liver function. glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (got), glutamic-pyruvate transaminase (gpt), albumin, total protein, and bilirubin . keywords: raphanus sativus, extract, hypoglycemic, glucose, rats  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-03-25 issue vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com obtaining yeast mannoproteins with antimicrobial properties | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 / research articles obtaining yeast mannoproteins with antimicrobial properties authors mariia kuntsova tatiana meledina svetlana davydenko dmitrii manshin anastasia andreeva doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i9.1179 abstract introduction: mannoproteins (mp) contained in the yeast cell wall (ycw) have high biological activity and possess several techno-functional properties. they are actively used in oenology, as a colloidal stabilizer and an inhibitor of the crystallization of potassium bitartrate, agriculture, as a feed additive for animals, the food industry, as an emulsifier. we obtained mp from saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and evaluated antimicrobial properties against bacillus subtilis and escherichia coli. methods: ycw was obtained by autolysis of 15% yeast suspension of s. cerevisiae for 24 h at the temperature of 55° c with the initial ph of 5.0 and mixing at 120 rpm. mp preparations from ycw were obtained in two ways, namely, thermal extraction at the temperature of 121° c and alkaline extraction. the precipitated protein was dried in a dehydrator and then crushed. after that, mp were tested in relation to two cultures of e. coli and b. subtilis by sowing on liquid and solid nutrient media, with the addition of mp preparation obtained by various methods and different concentrations. results: as a result of induced autolysis, ycw was obtained with a yield of 27%. the mp yield after thermal and alkaline extraction was 12.0 and 12.9%, respectively. in relation to e. coli, alkaline mp showed the inhibitory ability of 37% at the preparation concentration of 5% (m/v). the fraction obtained by thermal means demonstrated minimal antimicrobial activity (aa). inhibition was 4% relative to the control sample at the preparation concentration of 3% (m/v). according to the experimental data obtained with respect to b. subtilis, aa of the alkaline (3% m/v) fraction was 80%. the thermal (5% m/v) fraction did not manifest aa, on the contrary, it acted as a catalyst for colony growth. conclusions: mannoprotein obtained by alkaline extraction showed an inhibitory effect on the growth of b. subtilis and e. coli. the resulting preparation can be used as a feed additive to agriculture animals as an alternative to antibiotics. with proper cleaning, this preparation can be used in medicine and cosmetology.    keywords: mannoprotein, cell wall, yeast, saccharomyces cerevisiae, antimicrobial properties downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-09-15 issue vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory profile of sokeikakketsuto and makyoyokukanto in primary cultured rat hepatocytes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 / research articles hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory profile of sokeikakketsuto and makyoyokukanto in primary cultured rat hepatocytes authors tatsuma sakaguchi kansai medical university, department of surgery tetsuya okuyama kansai medical university, department of surgery masaya kotsuka kansai medical university, department of surgery terufumi yoshida kansai medical university, department of surgery tadayoshi okumura kansai medical university, department of surgery, research organization of science and technology, ritsumeikan university mikio nishizawa department of biomedical sciences, college of life sciences, ritsumeikan university, kusatsu, japan masaki kaibori kansai medical university, department of surgery mitsugu sekimoto kansai medical university, department of surgery doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i2.887 abstract background: sokeikakketsuto (sok) is a kampo medicine that can mitigate several types of pain, including arthralgia, neuralgia, low back pain, and myalgia, which may be introduced for the treatment of neuropathic pain in anti-cancer therapy. considering that several kampo medicines are known to have hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects, we investigated the pharmacological mechanism of sok in hepatocytes. additionally, we examined another kampo medicine, makyoyokukanto (mak), as a reference as it has been reported to have similar efficacy for neuropathic pain. methods: sok or mak was incubated with rat primary cultured hepatocytes treated with interleukin (il)-1β. the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (inos), nitric oxide (no) production, inos signaling pathways, and the expression of other inflammatory mediators was investigated. results: il-1β activated inos induction, followed by no production. sok and mak reduced the expression of inos mrna and its protein and decreased no production. sok and mak also decreased the levels of tumor necrosis factor (tnf)-α and increased the levels of il-6 and il-1β. transfection experiments with inos promoter-luciferase constructs revealed that mak reduced inos mrna synthesis and stability; however, sok only reduced mrna synthesis. both medicines suppressed the activation of nuclear factor (nf)-κb but did not block the upregulation of type i il-1 receptor in two essential signaling pathways. conclusions: sok and mak could prevent no production by inhibiting inos gene expression, partly through nf-κb activation, in inflamed hepatocytes. however, both medicines may have different mechanisms of action in the treatment of injured organs. keywords: kampo medicine, sokeikakketsuto, makyoyokukanto, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cultured hepatocytes downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-02-15 issue vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com modulation of protein quality control systems as novel mechanisms underlying functionality of food phytochemicals | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 3 no. 10 (2013): october 2013 / research articles modulation of protein quality control systems as novel mechanisms underlying functionality of food phytochemicals authors kohta ohnishi division of food science and biotechnology, graduate school of agriculture, kyoto university, kyoto, 606-8502 kazuhiro irie division of food science and biotechnology, graduate school of agriculture, kyoto university, kyoto, 606-8502 akira murakami division of food science and biotechnology, graduate school of agriculture, kyoto university, kyoto, 606-8502 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v3i10.36 abstract background: phytochemicals are secondary metabolites of plants that are produced for their defense against environmental stresses, such as polyphenols, which are considered to play a major role in protection against ultraviolet (uv) light-induced oxidative damage, as well as anti-fungal and anti-microbial activities. in addition, there is a great body of evidence showing that phytochemicals exhibit a wide array of physiological activities in humans. accumulated data show that the bioavailability of most, if not all, phytochemicals is quite poor and their substantial biotransformation after ingestion has also been noted. thus, they are characterized as non-nutritive xenobiotics in animals, and the question of why phytochemicals, which are produced for plant self-defense, have beneficial effects in humans is quite intriguing. meanwhile, stress-induced denaturing of cellular proteins greatly affects their tertiary structure and critically disrupts their biological functions, occasionally leading to aggregation for the onset of some pathology. many recent studies have indicated that protein quality control (pqc) systems play key roles in counteracting ‘proteo-stress’, which is comprised of several processes, including protein refolding by heat shock proteins (hsps) and degradation of abnormal proteins by the ubiquitin-proteasome system as well as autophagy. objective: phytochemicals are xenobiotics, thus their biochemical interactions with animal proteins are considered to occur in a non-specific manner, which raises the possibility that some phytochemicals cause proteo-stress for activating pqc systems. because their status is thought to be a critical determinant of homeostasis, the physiological functions of phytochemicals may be partially mediated through those unique systems. the present study was thus undertaken to address this possibility.  methods and results: we focused on zerumbone (zer), an electrophilic sesquiterpene present in zingiber zerumbet smith (shampoo ginger). this agent has been reported to exhibit various bioactivities, including anti-inflammation and cancer prevention[1,2]. treatment of hepa1c1c7 mouse hepatoma cells with zer resulted in marked up-regulation of multiple hsps, such as hsp40 and hsp70. furthermore, oral administration to the nematode caenorhabditis elegans and sd rats increased the expressions of some hsps[3]. interestingly, zer also increased proteasome activity in hepa1c1c7 cells, which was accompanied with up-regulation of 5, a major proteasome functional protein. in addition, the agent notably up-regulated the expressions of several pro-autophagic markers, including p62 and microtubule-associated protein 1 light-chain 3 (lc3)-ii[4]. experiments with biotin-labeled zer as well as a specific antibody against zer-adduct proteins revealed that it binds numerous cellular proteins in a non-specific manner. along a similar line, incubation with zer led to formations of p62-conjugated proteins and aggresomes. together, these results suggest that zer causes proteo-stress for potentiating the integrity of pqc systems. in support of this notion, zer-bound proteins have been suggested to be partially recognized by hsp90, leading to dissociation of heat shok factor 1 (hsf1) from hsp90 for inducing multiple hsp genes. next we speculated that mild chemical stress by zer may exert beneficial effects, since zer-bound proteins were time-dependently degraded, suggesting that defense capacity was amplified to a great level as compared with the non-treated condition. as expected, zer conferred thermoresistance to caenorhabditis elegans (c. elegans) and suppressed the proteo-toxicity of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, a potent electrophile produced through a lipid peroxidation process, in a p62-dependent manner. we then screened a number of nutrients and phytochemicals for their hsp70 inducibility, and found that certain phytochemicals, such as curcumin, phenethyl isothiocyanate, ursolic acid, and lycopene, were significantly active, whereas most nutrients were virtually inactive. these results may be associated with the fact that phytochemicals, but not nutrients, are foreign chemicals to animals, as noted above. conclusion: up-regulation of antioxidant and xenobiotics metabolizing enzymes has been reported to be an adaptive response in animals exposed to phytochemicals. our present results imply that the process also increases the capacity to counteract proteo-stresses through activation of pqc systems. this putative phenomenon, representing the concept of hormesis[5], may be associated with mechanisms underlying the physiological functions of phytochemicals. therefore, chronic ingestion of this class of chemicals may result in ‘chemical training’, in which self-defense systems are continuously activated for adaptation to phytochemical-driven stresses. key words: heat shock proteins, ubiquitin-proteasome system, autophagy, c. elegans downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2013-10-30 issue vol. 3 no. 10 (2013): october 2013 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the blockade of artsakh causing long-term food, nutrition shortage and starvation: how functional food education can help resolve health related conditions | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 / research articles the blockade of artsakh causing long-term food, nutrition shortage and starvation: how functional food education can help resolve health related conditions authors kelly williams lauren fielding jessica davis danik martirosyan phd, functional food institute, dallas, tx, united states doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i3.1081 abstract throughout history, regimes have utilized starvation as a form of genocide. genocide is defined by rafael lempkin as an intentional effort to annihilate a national group. the purpose of this research is to analyze the physiological immediate and lasting effects of starvation in the human body. in the current conflict in artsakh (nagorno-karabakh), ecologists from azerbaijan are preventing fuel, medicine, and food from entering the armenian border at the berdzor (lachin) corridor since december 12, 2022. russian peacekeepers are simultaneously stationed at the berdzor corridor, which connects artsakh and armenia. in this article, observations are presented on the effects of starvation and recovery on the human body as they relate to historical genocides. short and long-term effects of starvation can be severe, especially in minority populations and small territories. although prolonged starvation has more profound impacts on the body, metabolic processes and increased stress levels can cause serious harm to someone who hasn’t consumed food for even only a few days. the predominant physiological shift during a short period of starvation is the transition from gluconeogenesis as a form of fuel production to lipid oxidation as fuel production, resulting in formation of ketone bodies. this switch ultimately leads to metabolic acidosis and the beginning of further complications if trends continue.a prolonged lack of food can lead to an altered mental state, cardiac dysrhythmia, loss of bone density and various other abnormal physiological processes. many of these findings are potentially reversible via proposed treatments for recovery, although some are not. the blockade of artsakh has the potential to cause both severe short and long-term physical and psychological damage as discussed below. the blockade began more than 80 days ago, thus certain damage has already occurred.we strongly urge the international community to act against this blockade and help prevent a future genocide. keywords: food shortage, starvation, genocide,artsakh (nagorno-karabakh), blockade, berdzor (lachin) corridor, bioactive compounds, functional foods   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-03-10 issue vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com monoglucosyl rutin, a flavonoid glycoside, improves low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 / research articles monoglucosyl rutin, a flavonoid glycoside, improves low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial authors yushi hashizume mahamadou tandia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i6.1342 abstract background: atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ascvd) continues to be a significant contributor to global mortality, impacting over 523 million individuals worldwide. dyslipidemia stands as one of the foremost risk factors for ascvd. thus, prioritizing the reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c) levels is essential in mitigating cardiovascular complications. objective: this study aimed to evaluate the lipid-lowering activity of a dietary supplement containing monoglucosyl rutin (mr) in individuals with low to mild hypercholesterolemia. methods: this was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study conducted from april 20 to december 24, 2022. the study population included 56 healthy japanese adult participants with ldl-c levels between 120–139 mg/dl who were randomly allocated to either the mr or placebo groups (n = 28/group) using a computerized random number generator. 200 mg of mr or placebo divided into 3 tablets was given daily; participants were instructed to take 1 tablet with water after each meal for 12 weeks. the main focus was on measuring the serum ldl-c level as the primary outcome, with additional attention given to secondary outcomes such as serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (hdl-c), total cholesterol, and non-hdl-c levels. the study also evaluated the percentage of participants achieving serum ldl-c levels below 120 mg/dl after the 12-week intervention. assessments were conducted after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of intervention. results: there were 54 (27 in each group) participants in the per-protocol set (pps) and 53 (placebo group, 26; mr group, 27) participants in the modified pps (mpps). a statistically significant group difference in serum ldl-c levels was observed (p < 0.05), with a 5.0% decrease from preintervention to after 12 weeks. the reduction in ldl-c levels coincided with statistically significant decreases in total cholesterol levels, non hdl-c levels, and the ldl-c/hdl-c ratio. during the study period, there was no adverse event or concern about the safety of mr. conclusions: mr has potential as a preventive or therapeutic tool for improving improve long-term health and reducing cardiovascular morbidity. keywords: monoglucosyl rutin, flavonoid glycoside, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hyperlipidemia, lipid profile trial registration number: umin000047790 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-06-03 issue vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com perch essence prevents cell death to improve skeletal muscle mass and strength: evidence from in vitro and human model | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 / short communication perch essence prevents cell death to improve skeletal muscle mass and strength: evidence from in vitro and human model authors chih-cheng lin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1842-666x chih-yu hsieh ling-ni chen mao-hsiang lee yi-han ting ting-ming wang jia-feng chang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i10.1177 abstract background:fish protein supplementation may maintain muscle strength and prevent sarcopenia as it contains a complex array of macroand micronutrients essential for building the skeletal muscle.  objective:the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of perch essence (pe) supplementation on muscle mass and muscle function of through human and cell model.  methods:the open label clinical trial was conducted to assess the therapeutic effect of pe on muscle mass improvement. the mouse skeletal muscle cell (c2c12) model of muscle atrophy was analyzed for cell viability.  results:our results showed pe contained abundant branched chain amino acid, taurine, hydroxyproline and collagen. after one month of supplementation with pe in our human model, there was a significant increase in muscle mass in the whole body and all parts of the body, with an increase of 1.55 % in the whole body, 1.79% in the trunk, 1.64% in the arms and 1.38% in the legs. the percentage of subcutaneous fat in the trunk, arms and legs also decreased significantly by 2.49%, 3.21% and 3.40% respectively. pe supplementation also improves muscle grip strength, especially with the dominant hand. the cell model results demonstrated that pe could effectively prevent skeletal muscle cell from death induced by dexamethasone.  conclusion:this study suggests that the branched chain amino acids, taurine, hydroxyproline and collagen in pe have the potential to serve as a good source of dietary supplements for the improvement of skeletal muscle mass and strength through cell protection. keywords:branched chain amino acid, collagen, perch, skeletal muscle, sarcopenia downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-10-30 issue vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 section short communication license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of substituting oats and soybeans on the physicochemical composition of burgers and obtaining functional foods | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 / research articles effect of substituting oats and soybeans on the physicochemical composition of burgers and obtaining functional foods authors sara thamer hadi department of food sciences/college of agriculture/university of anbar/iraq firas riyadh jameel mohammed majed hamid doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i10.996 abstract background: plant foods, as functional foods, provide not only the essential nutrients needed to sustain life but also low-energy foods for health promotion and disease prevention, the burger, made of several types of meat, contains soy and oats in varying proportions to enhance its chemical and physical properties, as well as to test the efficacy of soy and oat flour as fat alternatives. objective: the goal of this study was to conduct chemical and physical analyses to calculation of proportions to determine whether use this type of hamburger fast food energy reduction might be used for the manufacturing of lowfat beef burgers, the treatment of obesity and autism, materials and methods: for both oats and soybeans, there were three burger treatments made of beef, chicken, and lamb, with a ratio of 5, 10, and 15% of each utilized to construct the model items. the meat fillers and fine fat were blended in a grinder. the burger sample weight was 75 g and kept chilled on 40c for 24 hours. results: the burger fillers which contain 10% oats and 10% soy and 5%, 15% ratios, respectively, made improvement in the chemical qualities notably with beef and lamb, respectively, while improving physical properties especially with beef and lamb. conclusion: low fat and high fiber kofta meat can be made using oat flour with an 8.0% oat flour and 0.5% carrageenan, with little negative impact on its physicochemical and sensory properties. keywords: meat, chemical, physical, burgers, oats, soybean, functional foods. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-10-19 issue vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com black tea decreases postprandial blood glucose levels in healthy humans and contains high-molecular-weight polyphenols that inhibit α-glucosidase and α-amylase in vitro: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 5 (2021): may 2021 / research articles black tea decreases postprandial blood glucose levels in healthy humans and contains high-molecular-weight polyphenols that inhibit α-glucosidase and α-amylase in vitro: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial authors yoshikazu isono biwako research institute, otsuka foods co., ltd. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1031-2887 hisako watanabe biwako research institute, otsuka foods co., ltd. masafumi kumada biwako research institute, otsuka foods co., ltd. tsuyoshi takara medical corporation seishinkai, takara clinic shin-ichiro iio orthomedico inc doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i5.791 abstract background: to prevent diabetes, it is important to control postprandial glycemic levels. studies have suggested that consuming black tea decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes; however, only a few studies have examined the effects of black tea on postprandial glycemic control after consuming starch-rich foods. in addition, the mechanism underlying the suppression of postprandial glucose levels remains unclear. objective: to investigate the effects of black tea on postprandial blood glucose levels in healthy humans and to identify the components of black tea that inhibit digestive enzymes. methods: the inhibitory activity of black tea on digestive enzymes was measured, and the inhibitory components were fractionated. healthy japanese adults ingested 200 ml of black tea, and its effect on postprandial blood glucose and insulin levels were investigated.  results: black tea dose-dependently inhibited α-glucosidase, sucrase, and α-amylase activity. the major components responsible for this inhibition were high–molecular-weight polyphenols. the galloyl moieties present in these compounds play an important role in their inhibitory activities. two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover studies of healthy human subjects (total n = 46) were conducted to investigate the effect of black tea on blood glucose and insulin levels. combined data from the two studies showed that black tea ingestion (200 ml) after cooked rice intake (200 g) significantly reduced the incremental area under the curve of glucose (p =.024) and insulin (p =.014) compared to placebo drink. conclusions: the high–molecular-weight polyphenols in black tea inhibited α-glucosidase, sucrase, and α-amylase activity in a dose-dependent manner. furthermore, black tea ingestion after eating cooked rice significantly reduced the incremental area under the curve of glucose and insulin. these effects of black tea could be attributed to the inhibition of digestive enzymes by high–molecular-weight polyphenols containing galloyl groups. keywords: black tea, blood glucose, α-glucosidase, α-amylase, polyphenol author biographies yoshikazu isono, biwako research institute, otsuka foods co., ltd. senior researcher hisako watanabe, biwako research institute, otsuka foods co., ltd. researcher masafumi kumada, biwako research institute, otsuka foods co., ltd. chief of the chemical lab. tsuyoshi takara, medical corporation seishinkai, takara clinic physician shin-ichiro iio, orthomedico inc section chief downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-05-12 issue vol. 11 no. 5 (2021): may 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional foods’ bioactive components and their chemoprevention mechanism in cervical, breast, and liver cancers: a systematic review | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 / review articles functional foods’ bioactive components and their chemoprevention mechanism in cervical, breast, and liver cancers: a systematic review authors john oluwafemi teibo department of biochemistry and immunology, ribeirão preto medical school, university of são paulo, ribeirão preto, sp-brazil. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0833-4828 kehinde sulaimon ayinde institute of biology, state university of campinas, campinas-sp, brazil olamide tosin olaoba laboratory of functional and structural biochemistry, federal university of sao carlos, sp, brazil temitope isaac adelusi department of biochemistry, faculty of basic medical sciences, ladoke akintola university of technology, ogbomoso, nigeria titilade kehinde ayandeyi teibo makinde victor bamikunle yomade ayodeji jimoh saad alghamdi osama abdulaziz abdur rauf gaber el-saber batiha doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i11.818 abstract the invasiveness and low survivability on the part of patients associated with cancer continues to raise global concern. different approaches have been used in the treatment and restoration of normalcy in cancer patients. however, most of the therapeutic strategies employed are challenged with high cost, low efficacy, high toxicity, and multiple side effects. in recent times, emergent studies have provided evidence that functional foods and their bioactive components serve roles as potential agents in the prevention and treatment of cancers. moreover, global interest has focused on how this chemoprevention potential of functional foods can be explored as plant-based medicines for drug development. although, the literature is replete with the mechanism of chemoprevention elicited by individual components of functional foods, there are limited reports on their overall anti-cancer mechanisms.  therefore, this systematic review aims to unify the anti-cancer mechanisms of functional foods in cervical, breast, and liver cancers which were selected due to their high incidence and mortality globally. we reviewed articles from ncbi/pubmed from 2010 until february 2020. three different search words used include “functional food and cervical cancer”; “functional foods and breast cancer”; “functional foods and hepatocarcinoma”. consequently, 434 scientific papers resulted from the three search words. however, after applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 37 articles were selected: 14 on cervical cancer, 10 on breast cancer, and 13 on hepatocellular carcinoma. we subsequently emphasize the anti-cancer mechanisms of various functional foods in the studies selected and these include induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, disruption of microtubular network, downregulation of anti-apoptotic bcl-2 family expression, induction of autophagy, modulation of signaling cascades, ros generation, and suppression of specific genes. therefore, functional foods possess effective chemoprevention mechanisms which can be explored in drug development.   keywords: cervical cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, cancer prevention, functional foods, bioactive compounds downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-11-05 issue vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-inflammatory effect of phytomarine r-l compound against lipopolysaccharideinduced pulmonary injury in balb/c mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 / research articles anti-inflammatory effect of phytomarine r-l compound against lipopolysaccharideinduced pulmonary injury in balb/c mice authors janani gopi francesco marotta sushmitha sriramulu antara banerjee n.r. rajesh kanna vignesh palani antonio ayala fang he r vijayashree surajit pathak doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i11.1014 abstract background: this study deals with the induction of lipopolysaccharide induced inflammation in animal model and treating this condition using phytomarine r-l compound (bloomin’age, science of living, milan italy) that is known to possess the anti-inflammatory properties and eventually determine their characteristics through the in-vivo experimentation. objective of the study:the present study was subjected to test the therapeutic anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidative and regenerative property of this phytomarine (sbf-lf) in an lps-induced lung injury in mice models.    methods:mice received an intra-nasal administration of lps at a concentration of 1 mg/ml weekly per day in a week for four consecutive weeks followed by the oral administration of r-l compound at a concentration of 50 mg/kg body weight intermittently. broncho-alveolar lavage fluids (balf) as well as the lung tissues were periodically collected from the control and experimental groups for histological examination. likewise, the lung tissue homogenate obtained from induction and treatment groups was assayed for myeloperoxidase (mpo) assay, superoxide dismutase (sod) activity and elastase assay.  results: the results illustrated that lpsinduced mice group demonstrated an increased inflammatory cell infiltration causing an acute and persisting neutrophilic accumulation in the lung parenchyma with alveolar congestion. furthermore, the influx of macrophages, lymphocytes as well as inflammatory mediators was observed during the balf analysis. the treatment with r-l compound resulted in a significant decline in the permeation of inflammatory cells as observed by lung histology and balf analysis.  conclusion: thus, the exploitation of r-l compound with the experimental groups along with other assay methods confirmed its robust anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and suggested epithelial regenerative capacity. further analyzing the efficacy of the r-l compound might help understanding its potential as a therapeutic option in clinical settings. keywords:lungs, balb/c mice, lipopolysaccharide, anti-inflammatory, r-l compound downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-11-22 issue vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of dietary fiber-enriched brown rice crackers on suppressing elevation of blood glucose level | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / research articles effect of dietary fiber-enriched brown rice crackers on suppressing elevation of blood glucose level authors hiroshi suzuki department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7003-0123 kenichi watanabe department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan izumi ikeda department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan yasunaga takeda department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan mariko hatta department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan chika horikawa department of health and nutrition, faculty of human life studies, university of niigata prefecture, japan efrem d’avila ferreira department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan wu sijia department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan khin laymon department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan hirohito sone department of hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, niigata university graduate school of medical and dental sciences, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1231 abstract background: rice crackers are composed of carbohydrates refined from rice and enjoyed as a snack in japan. most rice crackers are crafted from white rice, and the potential postprandial blood glucose rise following their consumption may pose a clinical concern. brown rice contains more dietary fiber than white rice and has been reported to suppress elevations of blood glucose. dietary fiber-enhanced brown rice crackers have a significantly higher dietary fiber content than regular brown rice crackers and can be expected to suppress blood glucose elevations more reliably. methods: we conducted a crossover trial in humans using white rice crackers and dietary fiber-enhanced brown rice crackers to investigate the effect of dietary fiber-enhanced brown rice crackers on postprandial blood glucose elevations. participants ingested the 100 g rice crackers with 200 ml water for 10 min, and blood was collected from the fingertip at 7 time points: baseline, and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after ingestion of the rice cracker. the primary outcome measure was the blood glucose levels, and the secondary outcome measure was the incremental area under curve of blood glucose. results: glucose levels and incremental areas under curve at 60 min and 120 min after intake were significantly lower with dietary fiber-enhanced brown rice crackers than with white rice crackers. incremental area under curves at 60 min and 120 min after intake of rice crackers were also significantly lower in dietary fiber-enhanced brown rice crackers than white rice crackers. conclusions: ingesting dietary fiber-enhanced brown rice crackers instead of white rice crackers could be useful for achieving better glycemic control. keywords: brown rice crackers, dietary fiber, postprandial blood glucose downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-14 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com screening and characterization of antioxidant, anti-aging, andanti-microbial activity of herbal extracts | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 / research articles screening and characterization of antioxidant, anti-aging, andanti-microbial activity of herbal extracts authors chakkraphong khonthun division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. krissana khoothiam division of microbiology, school of medical sciences, university of phayao, phayao, thailand orada chumphukam division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. rungthip thongboontho division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. panida oonlao division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. piyawan nuntaboon division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. kanokkarn phromnoi division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8003-6112 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i2.1070 abstract background: aging is a process caused by oxidants and aging-related enzymes. therefore, the inhibition of these processes can exacerbate anti-aging agents. this study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-aging activities of leaf extracts from seven herbs used in traditional thai herbal remedies.  methods: researchers assessed the total levels of phenolic content (tpc), antioxidant, anti-collagenase, and anti-tyrosinase activity using colorimetric methods. cytotoxicity effects were determined using mtt assays, and matrix metalloproteinases(mmps) secretion was assessed through gelatin zymography. in addition, inhibitory effects on the growth of microorganisms were examined using the disc diffusion and broth microdilution method. results: tpc ranged between 48.68–440.91 mg gae/g of ethanolic leaf extracts. high antioxidant activities against abts radicals were detected in p. granatum, p. emblica, p. guajava, t. bellirica, and t. chebula, while high dpph neutralization appeared in m. coreia, p. guajava, and p. granatum. frap assays significantly reduced the power of t. chebula and p. granatum. t. chebula and p. guajava exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on h2o2induced ros production. p. emblica, p. guajava, t. bellirica, and e. hygrophilus reduced tyrosinase and collagenase activities.  p. gaujava, t. chebula, and t. bellirica were shown to inhibit the secretion of mmp-2 from fibroblast cells. all concentrations of leaf extracts were non-toxic to fibroblast cells. p.granatum and t. bellirica could inhibit the growth of p. acnes, e. coli, and s. aureus.  conclusion: preliminary studies showed that p. granatum and t. bellirica leaf extracts have antioxidants, anti-aging, and anti-bacterial activitiesand have potential for use as active ingredients for the development of functional foods and cosmetic products. keywords: antioxidants, anti-aging, leaf extracts author biographies krissana khoothiam, division of microbiology, school of medical sciences, university of phayao, phayao, thailand orada chumphukam, division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. kanokkarn phromnoi, division of biochemistry, faculty of medical sciences, university of phayao. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-02-27 issue vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com juice yield and pectin indicators in apple and carrot pomace | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / research articles juice yield and pectin indicators in apple and carrot pomace authors arkan al-yasari nadezhda barakova reem alkhateeb filipp hovhannisyan angelina baskovtcev elena kiprushkina doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1186 abstract background: pectin exhibits different properties based on its degree of esterification, forming gels and serving as a structure-forming agent in food products, or forming complexes with heavy metal ions, finding applications in the development of therapeutic products for the elimination of heavy metal ions from the human body.  context and purpose of this study: the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of enzymatic treatment on the yield and quality of apple and carrot juices, as well as the quality parameters of pectin in pomace. our objectives were to select an enzymatic preparation for processing apple and carrot pomace and to study changes in the properties of pectins present in the pomace depending on the dosage of the enzyme preparation. results: the results of our experiments revealed that for apple pomace processing, it is more beneficial to use the enzyme preparation vegazym m with a dosage of 0.09% of the pomace mass, while for carrot pomace processing, the enzyme preparation fructozym ma with a dosage of 0.07% of the pomace mass proved to be the most suitable. these enzyme preparations in the specified amounts ensure maximum juice yield. it has been established that changing the dose of enzymes changes the complexing properties of pectin, which allows its use in food products with therapeutic and prophylactic properties. conclusions: the enzyme preparations allow for specific modifications, such as pectin modification in this case, enabling the versatile use of pectin as either a structure-forming agent or for the development of therapeutic and preventive food products. keywords:apple and carrot juices, enzyme preparations, apple and carrot pomace, pectin, soluble and insoluble pectin, degree of esterification and pectin complexation, functional products. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-02 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com pharmacokinetic effect of astragalus membranaceus and panax notoginseng saponins on arginine absorption and nitric oxide production in healthy subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 / research articles pharmacokinetic effect of astragalus membranaceus and panax notoginseng saponins on arginine absorption and nitric oxide production in healthy subjects authors ching-pin lin chao-tian lin i-chin wu ting-yn pan you-cheng shen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3098-4712 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i6.1104 abstract background: to the best of our knowledge, there are no clinical trials conducted with astragalus and ginseng extracts on nitric oxide (no) levels in humans. therefore, this study aimed to examine whether the standardized intake of astragalus membranaceus and panax notoginseng saponins (aps) could increase no production by enhancing arginine absorption and reducing levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (amda). methods: a clinical trial involving healthy adult participants aged between 20 to 80 years was conducted as a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study. the participants received 5 g of arginine powder and one capsule of aps or placebo twice, with a wash-out period between each administration. plasma and urine were collected for testing, and 24 subjects were included for analysis after excluding six subjects with great individual differences. results:it was found that after aps supplementation, the area under the curve (auc) of arginine significantly increased by 17.3% (p = 0.041), the maximum concentration (cmax) increased by 11.1%, and the arg/adma ratio significantly increased by 167.1% (p = 0.007). moreover, urinary nitrate and cgmp levels increased by 20.8% and 18.9%, respectively. conclusions: aps showed increases in arginine absorption, decrease adma levels, and enhance no production. with these findings, the addition of aps to arginine supplements could be advantageous for pre-workout and cardiovascular health. keywords:astragalus membranaceus and panax notoginseng saponins (aps), arginine, asymmetric dimethylarginine (adma), nitric oxide (no), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cgmp) clinical trial registration: nct05024123 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-06-16 issue vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com corozo (bactris guineensis) fruit extract has antiviral activity in vitro against sars-cov-2 | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 / research articles corozo (bactris guineensis) fruit extract has antiviral activity in vitro against sars-cov-2 authors tania jaimes-gualdrón laboratorio ciencia de los alimentos, universidad nacional de colombia sede medellín, colombia lizdany flórez-álvarez grupo inmunovirología, facultad de medicina, universidad de antioquia udea, medellín, colombia maría isabel zapata-cardona grupo inmunovirología, facultad de medicina, universidad de antioquia udea, medellín, colombia benjamín alberto rojano laboratorio ciencia de los alimentos, universidad nacional de colombia sede medellín, colombia. maría teresa rugeles grupo inmunovirología, facultad de medicina, universidad de antioquia udea, medellín, colombia wildeman zapata-builes grupo infettare, facultad de medicina, universidad cooperativa de colombia, medellín, colombia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i9.918 abstract background: given the current covid-19 pandemic, numerous drug development studies are being carried out for the treatment and control of this disease. this study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antiviral potential of corozo fruit extract (bactris guineensis) against sars-cov-2. methods: corozo extract (ce) was prepared from the pulp of mature corozo fruits. the total content of phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins in the extracts was determined using the folin-ciocalteu, aluminum chloride, and ph differential methods, respectively. the cytotoxicity on vero e6 cells was evaluated by mtt assay. antiviral activity was evaluated by pre-post-treatment using a colombian isolate of sars-cov-2. viral titer was quantified by plaque assay. results: anthocyanin concentration of ce was 144.95 ± 10.3 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside/l. the cytotoxicity of ce on vero e6 was lower to 20 % at 15.6 g/l. corozo extract inhibited sars-cov-2 at 15.6, 7.8, 3.9 and 1.9 g/l with inhibition percentages of 88.2%, 84%, 59.6% and 56.3%, respectively. conclusion: this is the first report on the in vitro antiviral effect of corozo fruit extract against sars-cov-2. since this is a natural product, proven safe for consumption, in the future and with further studies, it could be considered an important functional food that can be useful in preventing strategies to fight against covid-19. keywords: bactris guineensis, corozo fruit, antiviral activity, sars-cov-2, covid-19. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-09-15 issue vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com use of probiotics for nutritional enrichment of dairy products | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 / review articles use of probiotics for nutritional enrichment of dairy products authors subrota hati dairy microbiology department, smc college of dairy science, anand, gujarat, india jb prajapati chairman, varghese kurien centre of excellence (vkcoe), institute of rural management, anand-388001, gujarat, india doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i12.1013 abstract several food products, prepared with the help of beneficial microbes, can fit into the current definition of probiotics which have been consumed by mankind since ancient times. beneficial microbes are the agents that produce many fermented foods and beverages, which are popular in different parts of the world. indications about the use of products with healthy microbes are given in vedic literature and are also depicted in ancient egyptian and european treatises. however, systematic studies on probiotics started after the publication of the book, prolongation of life, by eli metchnikoff in 1907. during the last century, the use of probiotics as food and pharma products gained substantial rise. this review intends to compile and analyze the literature pertaining to the use of probiotics as food products, especially for nutritional enrichment. the review will focus on the key issues important to establishing the requirement to re-assure the efficacy and safety after strain development, process standardization, product formulations, bioavailability of the live cells and biomolecules, and the effect of processing, etc. current literatures addressing the mechanisms of action for probiotic function and the development of novel probiotic foods with health claims and meeting the nutritional requirement through fermentation are necessary to better understand the product and its application. keywords: probiotics, prebiotics, nutritional enrichment, fermented foods, bioavailability, efficacy, regulatory, safety, synbiotic, functional food downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-12-09 issue vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com long-term safety study of the highly absorbable curcumin formulation ts-p1 in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparative study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 / research articles long-term safety study of the highly absorbable curcumin formulation ts-p1 in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparative study authors hyunjin lee yoshitaka kuwabara akiko hirose yuji makino kyohei hashimoto misaki sakata tadashi watanabe doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i7.1396 abstract background: curcumin, a yellow-colored molecule derived from the rhizome of curcuma longa, has been identified as the bioactive compound responsible for numerous pharmacological activities of turmeric. however, its bioavailability is very low, limiting its potential. we have developed a novel curcumin formulation, ts-p1, which exhibits an 85.2-fold higher bioavailability than raw curcumin. objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of long-term intake of highly bioavailable curcumin, ts-p1, in healthy japanese adults. methods: we conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparison study. ninety healthy japanese adults were assigned to either the placebo or ts-p1 group and took 150 mg of curcumin or placebo daily for 12 weeks. physical examinations, blood analysis, urinalysis, and medical examinations were performed every 4 weeks. results: there were no adverse events attributed to the test foods during the study period. the mean change in body weight and body mass index (bmi) at week 12 from baseline showed a significantly greater reduction in the ts-p1 group. as there was no change in food or calorie intake between the groups during the study period, the observed weight reduction in the ts-p1 group appeared to be due to the pharmacological effect of curcumin through improved bioavailability. conclusions: these results suggest that long-term intake of highly bioavailable curcumin, ts-p1 containing 150mg of curcumin, is safe. keyword: highly bioavailable curcumin; ts-p1: theracurmin super; body index (bmi); body weight (umin id: umin000050377) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-07-26 issue vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com evaluation of the antioxidant activity and nitric oxide production effect of formulated crispy vegetables from thermal processing of amaranthus viridis and sauropus androgynous | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 / research articles evaluation of the antioxidant activity and nitric oxide production effect of formulated crispy vegetables from thermal processing of amaranthus viridis and sauropus androgynous authors juwainee madardam saowakon wattanachant chutha takahashi yupanqui doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i9.1116 abstract background: amaranthus viridis and sauropus androgynous are common edible vegetables consumed by the natives of asia. this research aimed to carry out a comparative evaluation on the antioxidant activity and nitric oxide production effect of crispy vegetables formula of a. viridis and s. androgynous made by thermal processing. methods: a. viridis and s. androgynous fresh vegetable leaves were dried, processed and formulated into crispy vegetables: a. viridis crispy vegetables, s. androgynous crispy vegetables and 50:50% (w/w) mixture of a. viridis and s. androgynous  crispy vegetables. total phenolic and flavonoids contents of the three crispy vegetables were evaluated using folin ciocalteu colorimetric and aluminum chloride assay.  results: s. androgynous crispy vegetable had higher phenolic (36.55 ± 0.01 mg gae/g) and flavonoid (81.17±0.00 mg qe/g) contents than a. viridis crispy vegetables (16.55±0.00 mg gae/g and 40.58±0.01 qe/g respectively) and 50:50% mixed crispy vegetable formula of a. viridis and s. androgynous (26.01 ± 0.00 mg gae/g; 59.38±0.00 qe/g respectively). s. androgynous crispy vegetable sheet also demonstrated a better antioxidant activity against the radical effect of dpph (15.43±0.07%), abts (34.04±0.05%) and frap (1.73±0.01) than a. viridis (13.45±0.11%, 26.35±0.17 &; 1.56±0.01 respectively) and was comparable with mixed formula (14.23±0.43%; 32.31±0.12%, 1.81±0.03 respectively). a significant dose-dependent cytotoxic effect was induced by the three crispy vegetables with ic50 of 8.33±0.69, 7.84±0.35, 7.86±0.33 respectively on huvecs. the results also showed that mixed crispy vegetables (50:50%) promoted endothelial nitric oxide production.  conclusion:the study concludes that the antioxidant activity of the crispy vegetables reflects the total phenolic and total flavonoid content as their functional properties. our findings also suggest that thermal processing of foods could have significant effect on the antioxidant activity of functional foods; however, a. viridis and s. androgynous prepared in crispy form may pose no potential threat to the body like the fresh vegetables. keywords:amaranthus viridis, s. androgynous, crispy vegetables, antioxidant, nitric oxide, hypertension, thailand downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-09-08 issue vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (gaba) intake in combination with exercise on muscle strength in humans with decreased mobility: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 / research articles effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (gaba) intake in combination with exercise on muscle strength in humans with decreased mobility: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study authors eriko uehara sanwa shurui co., ltd. hideki hokazono akihito tomonaga mitsuhiko fukagawa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i4.1334 abstract background: aging-related declines in skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical function are related to instability, falls, and frailty in older people, resulting in the need for nursing care. objective: to investigate the effect of oral γ-aminobutyric acid (gaba) intake and exercise on muscle parameters in healthy subjects whose muscle strength is beginning to decline with age. methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study was conducted. fifty subjects (over 40 years old) were randomly divided into the gaba (100 mg/day) or placebo food intake group. subjects orally consumed the respective study substance every day for 12 weeks. they performed daily “locomotion training” as devised by the japanese orthopedic society. muscle mass, fat mass, and knee extension muscle strength were measured. results: the two groups had no significant differences in muscle and fat mass. compared to the placebo food group, the gaba group exhibited a significant increase in muscle strength for the stronger leg (either left or right) during pre-dose week 0 (p = 0.02 at week 6). in post hoc subgroup analysis by sex, when compared with the placebo food intake group, the gaba food intake group showed significant improvement in knee extension muscle strength of the right leg at weeks 6 (p = 0.001) and 12 (p = 0.007), the left leg at week 6 (p = 0.02), the stronger of the left and right legs at pre-dose week 0 (at week 6, p = 0.001), and the weaker of the left and right legs at pre-dose week 0 (at week 12, p = 0.013) in males. conclusions: these results suggest that gaba intake combined with daily exercise is effective for maintaining knee extension muscle strength, which decreases with age. furthermore, there were no safety issues with the intake of gaba-containing food during this study. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000050152. keywords: γ-aminobutyric acid, gaba, muscle mass, knee extension muscle strength, aging downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-04-13 issue vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com clinical effect of phytosterol-enriched saw palmetto extract on urinary function in healthy middle-aged and older males: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized comparative study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 / research articles clinical effect of phytosterol-enriched saw palmetto extract on urinary function in healthy middle-aged and older males: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized comparative study authors tatsuya hisajima hideaki waki takuya suzuki takashi izumi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i2.1312 abstract background: saw palmetto extract (spe) is one of the most widely used supplements for benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph) due to its pharmacological effects. β-sitosterol-enriched saw palmetto oil (vispo™) contains more than 3% β-sitosterol and 85% total fatty acids and has been shown to improve symptoms in patients with bph. lower urinary tract symptoms (luts) require primary preventive measures in countries with accelerated population aging, including japan. vispo™ is expected to be effective against the early symptoms of luts. however, the effect of vispo™ on urinary function in healthy individuals has not been elucidated. objective: this clinical study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of vispo™ in the management of urinary complaints among healthy middle-aged and older men who did not require treatment. methods: we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that included 54 male participants who were assigned to consume vispo™ or placebo (olive oil) capsules for 12 weeks. biometric data, uroflowmetry results, and salivary hormone levels were assessed at weeks 1 and 12. urinary function and quality of life were assessed at weeks 1, 4, 8, and 12 using the international prostate symptom score (ipss), overactive bladder symptom score (oabss), core lower urinary tract symptom score (clss), and whoqol-26. results: two-way analysis of variance revealed that ipss and oabss were significantly lower in the vispo™ group that in the placebo group. however, there were no significant differences in urine volume, urinary flow rate, or salivary hormone levels. in addition, no participants reported adverse effects (diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc.).  conclusion: the results of the present study, which is the first randomized controlled trial of vispo™ conducted among healthy participants, demonstrate the effectiveness of vispo™ in the management of lower urinary tract complaints that do not require treatment.  trial registration: university hospital medical information network clinical trials registry (umin000046386). keywords: saw palmetto, vispo™, β-sitosterol, fatty acids, healthy subjects, primary preventive, ipss, oabss, lower urinary tract symptoms (luts) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-02-09 issue vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 section research articles license this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a randomized, controlled trial on the effectiveness of a proprietary marine lipo-peptide formula vs omega-3 on cytokines profile, anxiety, and pain symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 / research articles a randomized, controlled trial on the effectiveness of a proprietary marine lipo-peptide formula vs omega-3 on cytokines profile, anxiety, and pain symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia authors reza rastmanesh the nutrition society, london, uk umberto solimene who-collaborating center for who-cntr fortraditional medicine & biotechnology, university of milano, milano, italy aldo lorenzetti senior researcher, regenera intl. aging intervention francesco marotta regenera r&d international for aging intervention, milano, italy he fang department of nutrition and food hygiene, west china school of public health and west china fourth hospital, sichuan university, sichuan china cristiana aperio senior researcher, regenera intl. aging intervention nevenka anzulovic senior researcher, regenera intl. aging intervention giuseppe cervi regenera r&d international for aging intervention, italy nicola zerbinati department of medicine and surgery, university of insubria, varese, italy. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i8.954 abstract objective: the aim of the present study in an rct manner (physicians and patients) a novel lipo-peptide marine compound, ld-1227, on physical-, emotionaland functional-related symptomatic complaints in fibromyalgia patients as well as inflammatory cytokines profile and gene expression while using omega-3 as a control group. methods: the following questionnaire-based or clinical evaluation-based parameters were evaluated: widespread pain index [wpi] patient global impression of change, total tender points [ttp], fibromyalgia impact questionnaire, beck depression inventory, fatigue severity ratings, cognitive symptom severity, symptom severity score [sss] and weekly pain intensity ratings. additional biochemical and gene expression analysis of cytokines (il6, tnf-α, il-1β, mcp-1, il-8, il-13, il-1α, and gm-csf) was performed as well. data were analyzed with either a paired t-test or the wilcoxon signed rank test depending on the parametric or non-parametric distribution. results: comparing the data from before and after treatment for group b indicated a statistically significant reduction (p=0.05) in ttp, wpi score, and sss score. these data suggest a positive effect of a 3-month treatment with the ld-1227 but not omega-3 treatment on fibromyalgia pain and related anxiety/depressive symptoms. inspections of hrv and cytokines found a statistically significant improvement after ld1227 treatment. unlike the group supplemented with omega-3, the treatment with ld-1227 brought about a decrease in wpi and weekly pain intensity symptoms for the majority of participants. the pre-and post-treatment data for group b indicated a statistically significant reduction (p=0.05) in tpc, wpi, and sss scores. no adverse events were reported. conclusion: these results provide the first indications that the ld-1227 treatment has a statistically significant effect on the recognized fibromyalgia diagnosis metrics of wpi, ttp, and sss as well on inflammatory markers and parasympathetic balance. keywords: fibromyalgia, marine compound, lipopeptide, cytokines, anxiety, pain, ld-1227. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-08-26 issue vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com unlocking the potential of carrot pomace: enzymatic and impact-disintegrator-activator processing for elevated beta-carotene concentration in carrot powder | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 / research articles unlocking the potential of carrot pomace: enzymatic and impact-disintegrator-activator processing for elevated beta-carotene concentration in carrot powder authors angelina baskovtceva nadezhda barakova evgeniy samodelkin elena kiprushkina reem alkhateeb grigory tochilnikov doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i10.1184 abstract backgrounds: carrot pomace is a by-product of the juice industry, which quickly spoils due to its high moisture content and is usually considered waste. however, it is a valuable product containing a significant amount of bioactive compounds, particularly carotenoids. context and purpose of this study:in this study, we aimed to develop a technology for obtaining carrot powder from carrot pomace with an increased availability of beta-carotene. the unique aspect of the technology involved the use of enzymatic and impact-disintegration-activation processing (idap) of the raw material to enhance the release of beta-carotene from plant cells. objective of this study:to achieve the goal, we have set objectives to compare various dosages of enzyme preparation and to evaluate devices for grinding carrots that can be used to make powder. at all stages, it was necessary to measure the amount of beta-carotene in the samples. results: it has been found that the yield of carotenoids from carrot pomace is 185% higher compared to whole carrots. moreover, the application of enzymatic and impact-disintegration-activation processing significantly increases the carotenoid yield in the powder by 17 times compared to carrots (200% in terms of dry matter). this remarkable result was achieved through the described processing method and the selection of the enzyme preparation. additionally, the mechanoactivation obtained by using the desi-15 disintegrator played a crucial role. it was also observed that the use of impact-disintegration-activation processing for further grinding of dried carrots can increase the beta-carotene yield by 8 times.  conclusions: the carrot pomace was processed, resulting in a fine-dispersed carrot powder that shows promising applications in the food      or agricultural industries. keywords: carrot pomace, beta-carotene, impact-disintegrator-activator processing (idap), enzymatic processing, pectolytic enzyme preparations downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-10-23 issue vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com atractylodin, β-eudesmol, and (+)-hinesol in atractylodes chinensis rhizomes improve glomerular injuries in high immunoglobulin a mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 / research articles atractylodin, β-eudesmol, and (+)-hinesol in atractylodes chinensis rhizomes improve glomerular injuries in high immunoglobulin a mice authors mikio nishizawa toshinari ishii yuto nishidono saki shirako ken tanaka yukinobu ikeya doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i4.1318 abstract background: the rhizome of atractylodes chinensis (asteraceae), a crude drug of japanese kampo medicines, has been administered to patients with edema, nephrotic syndrome, and gastrointestinal disorders. essential oils, such as sesquiterpenoids (e.g., β-eudesmol and hinesol) and atractylodin, are rich in the rhizomes. previously, we discovered that atractylodin, a polyacetylene compound, found in an ethyl acetate (etoac)-soluble fraction from a methanol extract of a. chinensis rhizomes, possessed marked anti-inflammatory activities. oral administration of the etoac-soluble fraction reduced immunoglobulin a (iga) deposition in the renal glomeruli of high immunoglobulin a (higa) mice, a model of human iga nephropathy. an increased serum iga forms immune complexes and causes the deposition on renal glomeruli, leading to inflammation by the complement-mediated pathway. objective: the aim of this study is to identify the compounds that reduce iga deposition in an etoac-soluble fraction of a. chinensis rhizomes. methods: metabolites in the serum of higa and control balb/c mice were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. a standard diet including each compound was fed to higa and balb/c mice for 20 weeks to evaluate the improvement of glomerular iga deposition. results: metabolomic analysis of serum suggested that the higa mice exhibit a state near the early stage of chronic kidney disease, compared with the balb/c mice. when mice were orally administered each hydrophobic compound of a. chinensis rhizomes, it was revealed that atractylodin, as well as β-eudesmol and (+)-hinesol, efficiently inhibited glomerular iga deposition. furthermore, the renal levels of complement component 3 (c3) and proinflammatory cytokine mrnas were decreased, when the hydrophobic compounds were orally administered to higa mice. conclusion: atractylodin, β-eudesmol, and (+)-hinesol may inhibit glomerular iga deposition, probably by attenuating complement-mediated injuries and suppressing proliferation of mesangial cells in the renal glomeruli. these compounds might improve the pathological findings of human iga nephropathy. keywords: atractylodes chinensis; crude drug; immunoglobulin a nephropathy; metabolomics; complement downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-04-03 issue vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effectiveness in the short-term of a novel nutraceutical for the management of hypercholesterolemia: an observational multicenter primary care experience | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 / research articles effectiveness in the short-term of a novel nutraceutical for the management of hypercholesterolemia: an observational multicenter primary care experience authors francesco natale riccardo molinari simona covino gaetano piccinocchi andrea salvetti emanuele monda giuseppe limongelli giovanni cimmino doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i11.1023 abstract purpose: increasing evidence reinforces the benefits of reduction of low-density lipoprotein (ldl-c) levels on cardiovascular outcomes. different targets are suggested based on cardiovascular risk (cvr). according to the current european guidelines, a goal of ldl-c≤ 115mg/dl is desirable for patients with low-moderate cvr. however, a high percentage of these patients are far from this target. nutraceuticals are “food supplements” that may help to achieve this goal in this population. in this retrospective analysis, we evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with a novel monacolin/berberine/bergamot nutraceutical formulation on plasma lipid levels of subjects with low-moderate hypercholesterolemia who are not treated with conventional drug or other dietary supplements.  patients and methods:526 adult patients with hypercholesterolemia were retrospectively selected from the database of participant family practitioners according to prespecified criteria. all selected patients had a baseline and 30-day value of total cholesterol (tc), ldl-c, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, c-reactive protein, and transaminases and have started a dietary supplementation with this novel nutraceutical. similarly, 104 subjects with comparable clinical features but not treated with any supplements were also selected.  results:at 30-day, the administration of nutraceuticals was associated with a significant reduction of ldl-c (124 ± 14 vs. 100 ± 13 mg/dl, δ 24.5mg, p-value <0.0001) and tc levels (210 ± 56 vs. 187 ± 60, p-value < 0.0001), in the absence of a significant change of transaminase levels. no side effects were reported in the database during the observation period.  conclusion: this novel nutraceutical is an effective dietary supplement to achieve a significant and early  ldl-c reduction in patients with hypercholesterolemia at low-moderate cvr. keywords:cardiovascular risk; hypercholesterolemia; nutraceuticals downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-11-17 issue vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com marketability level of potato in armenia: potato functional properties | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 5 (2023): may 2023 / research articles marketability level of potato in armenia: potato functional properties authors hrachya tspnetsyan elya pepoyan astghik pepoyan syuzanna abrahamyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i5.1103 abstract background: functional food is becoming more and more important for professionals and also for consumers. on the other hand, it is known that the main factors affecting the sale of agricultural products are the general market dynamics, legislation, product range, seasonal sales dynamics, competitors, pricing, buyers and distribution channels. what’s also important is the profile of the company's personnel and the work of personnel in the market, advertising related to the quality of the product, which in recent times is especially based on the "natural" origin and functional value of the product․  objective: the aim of the current study is to quantify the factors influencing the level of potato marketability through econometric analysis in armenia. one of the objectives was also to observe whether the population appreciates the functional value of potatoes, which may affect future marketability and yield of potatoes.  methods:quantitative assessment of the factors influencing the level of potato marketability was carried out with a number of indicators: the yield of the sowing area, the gross harvest and the volume of export and import. observations were carried out during 10 years (2009 2018). a seven-item questionnaire was developed to explore consumer preferences for purchasing potatoes.    results:the level of marketability of potatoes had an increasing trend with the certain fluctuations (years: 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018). the data on the correlation coefficients on the factors influencing the level of potato marketability indicated that the relationship between the marketability level and potato planting area is inverse to the average level (ryx1 = 0.615). the correlation between the level of commerciality and yield is direct in the lower middle range (ryx2 = 0.461). the latter shows that increasing the level of yield contributes to the level of marketability. the effects of gross harvest, export and import volumes have a negative impact on the level of commoditization, but the relationship is extremely weak with ryx3 = 0.214 and ryx4 = 0.0532 and ryx5 = 0.105.          interview studies show that factors affecting potato marketability and productivity are subject to change.  conclusion: the increase in metabolic/non-communicable diseases, increased consumer awareness of these diseases and their prevention, as well as developments in organic agriculture and functional food production require changes in economic research and calculations, also related to functional foods.   keywords: potato, market, marketability, organic agriculture, functional food downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-05-22 issue vol. 13 no. 5 (2023): may 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com combination of vitamins a, d2 and d3 reduce tumor load and alter the expression of mirnas that regulate genes involved with apoptosis, tumor suppression, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hct-116 colon cancer cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 5 (2022): may 2022 / research articles combination of vitamins a, d2 and d3 reduce tumor load and alter the expression of mirnas that regulate genes involved with apoptosis, tumor suppression, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hct-116 colon cancer cells authors karen d. garay buenrostro school of medicine and health sciences, tecnológico university de monterrey monterrey, n.l., méxico and department of pharmacy practice, college of pharmacy, university of illinois at chicago, chicago, il, usa 60612 keila c. ostos mendoza pinal n. kanabar nina s. los temitope o. lawal shitalben m. patel alice m. lópez paulina cabada-aguirre gail b. mahady mark maienschein-cline zarema arbieva nishikant a. raut doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i5.925 abstract introduction: in previous work, we have shown the synergistic effects of combinations of vitamins a, d2, and d3 in reducing the proliferation of hct-116 colon cancer cells. this combination also induced apoptosis and altered gene expression patterns as determined by transcriptomic profiling.  aims: the aims of this study were to investigate the effects of vitamins a and d in hct-116 crl:nu(ncr)-foxn1nu mouse xenographs. also, to determine potential mechanisms of action using mirna-seq and correlated these data with results from rna-seq. methods: hct-116 colon cancer cells were cultured and used for the xenograph study. crl:nu(ncr)-male foxn1nu mice were injected subcutaneously with hct-116-cells (1 x 106 in 100 µl 50% matrigel and sterile pbs), and after 7 days, were treated with vitamin a and d in feed for 21 days. the mice were imaged on day 28, sacrificed and the tumors were excised and measured. rna was isolated from the hct-116 cells and tumors, and rna-seq and mirna-seq were performed. results: there was a concentration-dependent reduction in the hct-116 colon cancer cell viability after treatment with vitamin a and d combinations. in crl:nu(ncr)-foxn1nu mice injected with hct-116 colon tumor cells, treatment with vitamin a (25,000 iu) and vitamin d (4,000 iu) or vitamin a (35,000 iu) and vitamin d (5,000 iu) for 21 days significantly reduced tumor growth by ~38% and ~58%, respectively (p < 0.001). in the hct-116 cells and excised tumors, treatment upregulated the expression of bim, bax, p53, and pten, and downregulated axin2, id2 and ddx20 mrnas, all well-known pro-apoptotic proteins, tumor suppressors, and molecules involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. ingenuity pathway analysis of mirna-seq paired with rna-seq showed correlations between mirnas expression and expression of these genes. for example, mirna-mrna correlation pairing showed that treatment downregulated mir-30c-3p and mir-125b-3p which was associated with upregulated tp53. upregulation of the tumor suppressor pten was associated with the downregulation of eleven mirnas, including oncogenic mir17 and mir21. conclusion: the results suggest that the combinations of vitamins a and d reduced the hct-116 tumor burden in mice and altered the expression of mirnas directly associated with genes in the apoptosis, tumor suppression, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathways. the data supports the hypothesis that vitamin a and d combinations impact multiple cancer signaling pathways and thus may be more effective in the treatment and prevention of cancer, as well as reducing cancer metastasis.    keywords: apoptosis, cholcalciferol, colon cancer, ddx20, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, ergocalciferol, p53, rna-seq, mirna-seq, pten, synergism, transcriptome downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-05-17 issue vol. 12 no. 5 (2022): may 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of daily peanut consumption on indicators of metabolic health among healthy young women | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 / research articles the effect of daily peanut consumption on indicators of metabolic health among healthy young women authors nicole reeder http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7392-5464 terezie tolar-peterson grace a. adegoye erin dickinson emily mcfatter doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i12.1193 abstract background:regular consumption of nuts and peanuts may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease due to the bioactive compounds found within them. previous research suggests that including nuts and seeds as part of an overall healthy dietary pattern may help manage blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride, and fasting blood glucose levels, but few studies have examined the specific effect of dry-roasted, skinless peanuts on these outcomes.  objective:the objective was to examine the effect of regular consumption of dry-roasted, skinless peanuts on markers of metabolic health among women.  methods:this was a pre-post test study. eligible women were randomized into either the intervention group (49 g peanuts/day, n=30) or the control group (participants’ usual diet minus peanuts, n=28) for 12 weeks. anthropometrics, cholesterol, triglyceride, fasting blood glucose, and blood pressure levels were measured at baseline and end-line.  results:there were no significant between-group differences for any of the outcomes of interest. for the peanut group, there was a significant within-group decrease in systolic blood pressure (-7.0 mmhg; 95% ci: 1.3, 12.6), and a significant increase in total: hdl cholesterol ratio from baseline to endline (0.2; 95% ci: -0.3, 0.02). there was a significant within-group decrease in diastolic blood pressure for the control group (-6.3 mmhg; 95% ci: 2.0, 10.6).  conclusion:among healthy young women, the addition of daily peanuts to a usual diet does not appear to negatively affect body composition as measured by bmi, waist circumference, and body fat percentage. further research is needed to fully elucidate the effect of peanut consumption on indicators of cardiovascular health in different populations.  keywords: nuts, peanuts, blood pressure, cholesterol, metabolic health, women downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-12-07 issue vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in vitro propagation of stone fruit rootstock cultivar evrica 99 and its influence on some phytochemical traits of fresh apricot fruit | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 / research articles in vitro propagation of stone fruit rootstock cultivar evrica 99 and its influence on some phytochemical traits of fresh apricot fruit authors gayane melyan gagik santrosyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i2.1317 abstract background: the cultivation of stone fruits is of primary importance in armenia. their fruits contain antioxidants, fiber, potassium, vitamin a, c, e, minerals, etc., which have a beneficial effect on human health and prevent many diseases. the concentration of those components varies depending on ecological factors, cultivar, rootstock, cultural practices, etc. clonal rootstocks are important for increasing orchard density, tree uniformity, and high yields, and they can also affect fruit quality. in vitro culture is a valuable method for rapid propagation of high-quality, virus free plant material. objective: the purpose of this study was to develop in vitro production technology for the stone-fruit rootstock cultivar evrica 99, and to determine if rootstocks affect some fresh fruit traits of ´yerevani´ and ´sateni´ apricot cultivars. methods: the shoot apical meristem and lateral bud served as explants for shoot regeneration. different sterilizing agents at various periods of exposure were used for the explant surface sterilization. various concentrations of phytohormones, both individually and in combinations, were employed for in vitro regeneration and rooting of plants. the titratable acidity (ta), dry matter (dm), vitamin c, mineral content, total carotenoids (tc), and sugar contents were evaluated in fresh fruit. results: the most optimal option for explant surface sterilization was the gradual application of calcium hypochlorite [ca (clo)2] (2.0% solution, exposure time 10 min) and ethanol (70% solution, exposure time 20 s), as a result of which we had 75.5% survival rate of explants. the efficient medium for in vitro shoot regeneration was ms supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (bap) 0.8 mg/l, kinetin (kin) 0.2 mg/l, and gibberellic acid (ga3) 1.0 mg/l. the half-strength murashige and skoog (ms) medium containing 0.8 mg/l indole-3-butyric acid (iba) was optimal for in vitro rooting. rooted plants were successfully adapted with a survival rate of 85.0%. the defined method can be successfully used for 'evrica 99' cultivar micropropagation. the results obtained showed that fruit quality strongly depended on both the varieties and the rootstock tested. conclusion: in the current study, an alternative in vitro propagation technology for rootstock cultivar ´ evrica 99 was developed by direct organogenesis, enabling mass-scale production of virus-free plants that is suitable for commercial purposes as well. the apricot cultivars ´yerevani´ and ´sateni´ grafted on the virus-free rootstock cultivar evrica 99 showed higher fruit quality traits, which are essential for human health and diet. keywords: ´evrica 99, fucnctional foods, in vitro regeneration, micropropagation, plant growth regulators, stone fruit rootstock, tissue culture. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-02-15 issue vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com phytochemicals in commonly consumed foods in malawian diets | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 / research articles phytochemicals in commonly consumed foods in malawian diets authors victoria ndolo margaret maoni bonface mwamatope david tryson tembo malawi university of business and applied sciences http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1376-5956 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i10.976 abstract background: plant foods, as functional foods, provide not only the essential nutrients needed to sustain life, but also bioactive compounds (phytochemicals) for health promotion and disease prevention. objective of the study: the aim of this research was to screen phytochemicals in commonly consumed fruits and vegetables in malawi. the effect of processing vegetables on phytochemicals was also evaluated. methods: the potential of some commonly consumed fruits and vegetables in their raw and cooked forms as natural source of phytochemicals was evaluated in both aqueous and methanol extracts. these fruits and vegetables were screened for alkaloids, saponin, tannins, flavonoids, quinones, coumarins, terpenoids, steroids, glycosides and anthocyanins, total flavonoids content (tfc) and total phenol content (tpc) using standard procedures. tpc and tfc were also analyzed using spectrophotometric methods. results: almost all the phytochemicals screened were found in some of the studied fruits and vegetables, with indigenous fruits and vegetables having the most, except for glycosides and anthocyanins. tpc in fruits ranged from 715.08mggae/g to 21,119.66mggae/g, while tfc ranged from 44.10mgqe/g to 434.74mgqe/g in vegetables. tpc of uncooked vegetables ranged from 522.22 mggae/g (pumpkin leaves) to 33, 684.66 mggae/g (ntoriro), while in cooked vegetables it ranged from 135.93 mgqe/g (bonongwe) to 6817.86 mgqe/g (chisoso). overall, indigenous vegetables showed higher tpc values in comparison to exotic vegetables. it was also observed that processing of vegetables affected total phenolic compounds differently. in some vegetables, tpc values increased with cooking (pumpkin leaves, bonongwe and chisoso), while in others (cabbage, chinese and rape) it decreased. conclusions: the results show that fruits and vegetables can serve as a cheap source of natural antioxidants that could help fight non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. as might be expected, a single fruit or vegetable doesn’t contain all the necessary phytochemicals. therefore, an intake of a mixture of fruits and vegetables is recommended for maximum benefit as functional foods. keywords: phytochemicals, fruits, vegetables, total phenolic content, non-communicable diseases author biography david tryson tembo, malawi university of business and applied sciences born on 27 september 1974, david tryson tembo is a holder of a doctor of philosophy, phd (university of leeds, united kingdom, 2017), master of science, msc (university of malawi, 2008) and bachelor of education science, beds (university of malawi, 2001). his phd research study focused on characterization of phytochemicals in functional foods and herbal medicines using state of the art analytical techniques including 1h nmr, hplc, lc-ms and gc-ms. david has over 21 years of research and teaching experience both face to face as well as online obtained from different universities in united kingdom (university of leeds and sheffield hallam university) and malawi (kamuzu university of health sciences, chancellor college and malawi university of business and applied sciences) as well as high schools (leeds east academy, uk), kamuzu academy and saint andrews international high school, malawi). david has supervised over 65 postgraduate and undergraduate research students at the university of leeds, uk, sheffield hallam university, uk and university of malawi (msc and bsc). some of his key research students include dr thom msika (phd, 2021) and fred masumbu (phd student 2022), kamuzu university of health sciences (kuhes). dr tembo has examined several pg students including phd within malawi (dr frank ngonda, 2021) and united kingdom (andy fang, 2015). david tembo has a number of research articles in peer reviewed high impact factor journals. teaching skills and experience were obtained from first professional degree, bachelor of education science (beds with merit, university of malawi, 2001) and united kingdom (university of leeds and sheffield hallam university, 2012 to 2017). proficient in both oral and written english. highly computer literate (word, excel and powerpoint) including several statistical packages (spss, genstat and r commander) necessary for data processing, analysis for manuscripts and report writing. david is christian, and church elder (mount pleasant church, blantyre synod) and likes site seeing, watching football and tennis during free time. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-10-07 issue vol. 12 no. 10 (2022): october 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a blend of sphaeranthus indicus flower head and terminalia chebula fruit extracts reduces fatty liver and improves liver function in non-alcoholic, overweight adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 / research articles a blend of sphaeranthus indicus flower head and terminalia chebula fruit extracts reduces fatty liver and improves liver function in non-alcoholic, overweight adults authors vamsi krishna pothula rajendra krishna institute of medical sciences hospital, nellore, andhra pradesh sridhar kurapati krishna institute of medical sciences hospital, nellore, andhra pradesh sai krishna balineni aditya multi speciality hospital, guntur, andhra pradesh naga tejaswi tejaswi gogineni general medicine department, aditya multi speciality hospital, guntur, andhra pradesh, india doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i7.958 abstract background: excessive accumulation of fat in the liver is a common clinical presentation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (nafld). the increasing prevalence of nafld is a growing health problem worldwide. the major risk factors of nafld include obesity, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance. objective: the aim of the present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of an herbal composition cl16049f1 in reducing fatty liver conditions and improving liver function in non-alcoholic, overweight individuals. cl16049f1 is a patented© blend of sphaeranthus indicus flower head and terminalia chebula fruit extracts. materials and methods: ninety male and female subjects (age: 25-60 yrs., bmi: 23-29 kg/m2) with elevated fatty liver index (fli) between 31 and 59 were randomized into three groups (n=30). the participants received a daily dose of 300mg cl16049f1, 320 mg silymarin, or a placebo over a period of 84 consecutive days. fli was evaluated as the primary efficacy measure. the secondary efficacy measures included the liver enzymes, lipid profile, and oxidative stress markers in serum, a 36-item short-form health survey (sf-36), and gastrointestinal symptoms (gis) score were also evaluated. the clinical biochemistry, hematology, urine, and vital signs were evaluated as safety measures. adverse events were also monitored. results: eighty-eight subjects completed the study. post-trial, the fli score of cl16049f1-supplemented subjects was reduced by 13.81% (p<0.05) and 16.08% (p<0.05), while the silymarin supplemented group exhibited reductions of 7.50% (p<0.05) and 7.27% (p<0.05) as compared to baseline and placebo, respectively. cl16049f1 supplementation significantly improved the liver enzymes, lipid profile, and oxidative markers in serum. the changes in the secondary efficacy measures in these treatment groups are comparable. no major adverse events were observed. conclusion: cl16049f1 is a well-tolerated and effective herbal formulation to reduce fatty liver and improve liver function in non-alcoholic, overweight subjects. keywords: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, fatty liver index, cl16049f1, hepatoprotective botanical formulation.   downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-07-18 issue vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com steamed broccoli sprouts diet alleviates inflammatory bowel disease by increasing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and gut protective metabolites in an ulcerative colitis mouse model | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 / research articles steamed broccoli sprouts diet alleviates inflammatory bowel disease by increasing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and gut protective metabolites in an ulcerative colitis mouse model authors tolu e. alaba tao zhang yanyan li suzanne l. ishaq doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i5.1603 abstract background: broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable rich in bioactive compounds that may be beneficial against inflammatory bowel disease. however, an in-depth annotation and understanding of the metabolites and microbial interactions associated with the broccoli sprouts diet is necessary.  methods: specific pathogen-free c57bl/6 mice (male, 6 weeks old) were divided into four treatments: control diet; control diet with 2.5% dss in water to induce symptoms of ulcerative colitis; 90% control diet plus 10% steamed broccoli sprouts; and 90% control diet/ 10% steamed broccoli sprouts plus 2.5% dss in drinking water to induce symptoms. dss treatment was cycled three times, with five days of dss followed by a recovery period of five days. mice continued their diets throughout the duration of the study. fecal samples were collected on day 30 and frozen at -80℃ until metabolomic analysis. liquid chromatography, conducted using high-resolution mass spectrometry (lc-hrms) was performed using a waters synapt g2, time-of-flight (tof) xevo. the lcms metadata was processed in masslynx, progenesis qi, mzmine, and sirius tools. this included the use of built-in search engines to obtain retention time, mass charge ratio, molecular weight, peak intensity, metabolites name, and formula using several libraries. results: over 3,000 fecal metabolites were abundant in the feces of mice, with diet being a significant factor of differentiation (+/steamed broccoli sprouts) and ulcerative colitis (+/2.5% dss) treatment methods. the steamed broccoli sprouts intervention significantly increased the concentrations of beneficial metabolites, such as sulforaphane, short-chain fatty acids, tryptophan, indoles, glutamic acid, and polyphenolic metabolites. a positive correlation with commensal bacteria, bacteroides spp., intestinimonas, oscillibacter, and lachnospiraceae was found in the gut's colon, colon, cecal, and jejunum regions, and jejunum regions.  novelty: this study used innovative metabolomic methods to identify dietary and microbial anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, prebiotic, and gut-protective metabolites associated with diets including steamed broccoli sprouts. the research concluded that the diet was effective against ulcerative colitis in mice.  conclusions: these data suggest that broccoli sprouts may positively affect metabolites and microbial interactions. these benefits include their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and gut-protective properties that help with inflammatory bowel disease symptoms.   keywords: cruciferous vegetables, sulforaphane, glucoraphanin, gut microbiota, dietary bioactives, metabolomics, ulcerative colitis model downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-05-21 issue vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com correction of metabolic disturbances by functional food compositions in experimental obesity in cd-1 and agouti-yellow mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 / research articles correction of metabolic disturbances by functional food compositions in experimental obesity in cd-1 and agouti-yellow mice authors petr lebedev anna peresypkina belgorod state national research university https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2829-9860 vasiliy gustinovich oleg godunov vladimir gustinovich maria zatolokina artem goliusov mikhail pokrovskii doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i1.874 abstract background: to determine the most promising composition, the possibility of correction of metabolic disturbances was investigated with the use of functional food compositions in cd1 and agouti-yellow mice in experimental obesity. methods: agouti-yellow and cd1 mice were divided into 10 groups (control, 1/1, 1/9, 2/1, 2/9 in each line) according to diets. for 4 weeks, the groups ate a high-calorie diet. starting with week 5th, composition 1 was added to the diet in groups 1/1 (60% lard + 39% standard laboratory feed + 1% composition 1 + 10% fructose solution), 1/9 (60% lard + 31% standard laboratory feed + 9% composition 1 + 10% fructose solution); composition 2 was added to the diet in groups 2/1 (60% lard + 39% standard laboratory feed + 1% composition 2 + 10% fructose solution), 2/9 (60% lard + 39% standard laboratory feed + 9% composition 2 + 10% fructose solution). on the day 56th, each animal was weighed, blood was taken for biochemical analysis (glucose, ldl, cholesterol and hdl) and organs (the skin of the anterior abdominal wall, skeletal muscle tissue in the area of the lateral surface of the thigh, liver, kidneys with perirenal tissue, pancreas, and thymus) were taken for histological examination. results: in agouti-yellow mice, group 2/9, the greatest decrease in blood glucose level was observed compared to the control group by 34.6% (p < 0.05). consumption of compositions in groups 1/9 and 2/9 led to a significant decrease in ldl and a significant decrease in total cholesterol level by 21.9% (p < 0.05) and 18.8% (p < 0.05) respectively compared to the control group. hdl was significantly higher in groups 1/9, 2/9 than in the control group. in cd-1 mice, group 2/9 showed the best result in glucose level (mean 5.78 mmol/l) among all groups receiving functional food compositions and the control group. the most pronounced decrease in ldl was observed in groups 1/9, 2/9 compared to the control group (p < 0.05). hdl value in group 2/9 significantly exceeded the mean value in the control group, by 54.8% (p < 0.05). body mass of agouti-yellow mice and cd-1 mice in groups 1/1, 2/1, 1/9, and 2/9 significantly decreased compared to control groups. according to the results of histological examination of organs and tissues, functional food composition 2 turned out to be the most promising. conclusion: according to the results of the study, the most promising composition was selected (composition 2). feeding animals with this composition improved histological pictures of studied organs and tissues, biochemical blood parameters and effectively reduced body mass in both experimental animal lines, cd-1, and agouti-yellow mice, compared to the control groups.   keywords: cd-1 mice, agouti-yellow mice, experimental obesity, ldl, cholesterol author biography anna peresypkina, belgorod state national research university профессор кафедры фармакологии и клинической фармакологии института медицины белгородского государственного национального исследовательского университета downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-01-17 issue vol. 12 no. 1 (2022): january 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com changes of volatile flavored compounds during lactic acid fermentation in cereal-based products | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / review articles changes of volatile flavored compounds during lactic acid fermentation in cereal-based products authors sagnik sah shyarshree putatunda rajib majumder arpita das doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1503 abstract lactic acid bacteria (lab)-mediated fermentation of cereals is a preservation technique that enhances food flavor, nutrition, and safety. lab naturally exists in cereals and plays a significant role in fermentation converting sugars into lactic acid and lowering the ph levels to create a distinctive sour taste and aroma. this process increases nutritional value and produces compounds like ethanol, acetic acid, and carbon dioxide, contributing to texture and appearance. lab fermentation breaks down complex carbohydrates and proteins, improving digestibility and nutrient absorption. common lab-fermented cereal-based foods include sourdough bread, fermented cereal porridges, yogurt and kefir. effective monitoring of volatile flavor compounds during fermentation is crucial for ensuring the quality, safety, and consumer acceptance of these foods. keywords: cereal-based food, volatile flavor compounds, lactic acid bacteria, fermentation, amino acid metabolism, hplc, gc-ms downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-25 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section review articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of spinach-derived glutathione against carbon tetrachloride-induced stress in rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 / research articles effect of spinach-derived glutathione against carbon tetrachloride-induced stress in rats authors enas abdulkareem abdulrazak n/a qaswaa yousif jameel phd department of food science, colleges of agricultural and forestry, university of mosul, mosul, iraq doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i8.972 abstract background: increased consumption of natural antioxidants found in vegetables and fruits has been linked to a lower risk of disease caused by oxidative stress. objective: the current study's focus was to compare the antioxidant properties of synthetic glutathione and glutathione derived from spinach against ccl4-induced stress in female albino rats.  materials and methods: cold chloroform extraction was used to prepare the spinach leaf extract. glutathione was then extracted from the spinach leaf extract using preparative hplc afterward when the concentration of glutathione was measured in the extract. biological preventive and therapeutic experiments were conducted, where laboratory rats were divided into 6 groups, the first group g1 (positive control group), the second group g2 (negative control group), the third group g3 preventive experiment 1 (group glutathione extracted from spinach + ccl4), the fourth group g4 therapeutic experiment 1 (group ccl4+ glutathione extracted from spinach), the fifth group g5 preventive experiment 2 (group of synthetic glutathione + ccl4), the sixth group g6 therapeutic experiment 2 (group ccl4+ glutathione extracted from spinach).  results: treatment of rats with spinach-derived synthetic glutathione, before or after they were given ccl4 subcutaneous, improved the values of parameters near to normal levels in the positive control animals in groups treated with spinach-derived glutathione (g3 and g4) compared to treatment with synthetic glutathione (g5 and g6). administration of milk with glutathione derived from iraqi spinach leaves exhibited favorable effects on oxidative stress, greatly enhanced the antioxidant system, and protected rats from liver damage brought on by carbon tetrachloride compared to milk with synthetic glutathione.  keywords: iraqi spinach, functional food, natural antioxidant, oxidative stress, synthetic glutathione.  downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-08-05 issue vol. 12 no. 8 (2022): august 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com health communication to reduce sugar consumption in thailand | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 / review articles health communication to reduce sugar consumption in thailand authors kanokpong muangsri integrative nutrition and herbal medicine association, thailand wittayatorn tokaew department of communication arts, sukhothai thammathirat open university, thailand supaporn sridee department of communication arts, sukhothai thammathirat open university, thailand kamon chaiyasit integrative nutrition and herbal medicine association, thailand doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i10.833 abstract excessive sugar consumption is one of the critical health behaviors contributing to non-communicable diseases or ncds, which are the leading causes of mortality among the thai population. it is reported that thai people have a continuous increase in sugar consumption every year associated with higher incidences of ncds in the country. therefore, health communication to raise awareness and modify the sugar consumption behavior in thailand focuses on integrative communication in terms of public policies in accordance with the national ncds strategic plan, guidelines and knowledge in sugar consumption including healthy and unhealthy sugar sources, sugar substitutes and their use in functional foods, health problems related to sugar consumption, the use of gda nutrition label, and the application of healthier choices standards with appropriate sugar content. with changing lifestyles, social media and technologies play a higher role in health communication regarding sugar consumption, resulting in the development of health applications in conjunction with iot technology that can be used via smartphones. all these communications aim to promote the reduction of sugar consumption in the prevention of ncds, thus reducing the premature death rate of the thai population accordingly. keywords: health communication, sugar consumption, sugar, sweetener, sugar tax, social media, non-communicable diseases, ncds, nutrition label, gda label, iot downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-10-04 issue vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com modulation of gut microbiota and their metabolites by functional mulberry juice non-thermally pasteurized using microfiltration | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 / research articles modulation of gut microbiota and their metabolites by functional mulberry juice non-thermally pasteurized using microfiltration authors thitirat kaewsedam n/a wirote youravong n/a zhenyu li n/a santad wichienchot n/a doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i9.980 abstract background: mulberry fruit is a source of phenolic compounds and has biological properties. this study aimed to assess the effects of isomaltooligosaccharide (imo) added to mulberry juice on prebiotic activity and gut fermentation properties. objectives: the study aimed to produce mulberry juice supplemented with imo, which might generate short chain fatty acids (scfa), and to examine the effects of a prebiotic activity after fecal fermentation. materials and methods: functional mulberry juices were prepared with three different levels of isomaltooligosaccharide (imo), namely 0% (mbi0), 2% (mbi2), and 8% (mbi8). the study tested mulberry juices supplemented with imo, which generated short-chain fatty acids (scfa), phenolic metabolites, and favored beneficial gut bacteria, and examined the prebiotic activity after fecal fermentation by the colonic microbiota. a crossflow hollow fiber microfiltration system with a 0.22 μm pore size was employed to deliver permeates considered non-thermally pasteurized juices. results: the results show that short chain fatty acids (scfa) included large propionic acid and butyric acid concentrations at 48h. the percent of bifidobacteria significantly increased to 5.03% and 17.53% in 24 hours fermentation of mbi2 and mbi8, respectively. after fecal batch culture fermentation, some anthocyanin metabolites such as 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, l-phenylalanine, and aminocaproic acid, were detected. therefore, imo can serve as a potential prebiotic ingredient added in mulberry juice for promoting the growth of beneficial gut microbiota. conclusion: the results show that imo favored beneficial microorganisms in the gut and contributed to biologically active compounds such as metabolites of polyphenols and anthocyanins in the gut. keywords: mulberry, isomaltooligosaccharide, prebiotic, gut microbiota, metabolites downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-09-30 issue vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of daily peanut consumption on cognitive function and indicators of mental health among healthy young women | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 / research articles the effect of daily peanut consumption on cognitive function and indicators of mental health among healthy young women authors nicole reeder department of food science, nutrition, and health promotion, mississippi state university, mississippi state, mississippi, 39762, usa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7392-5464 terezie tolar-peterson department of health science and human ecology, california state university san bernardino, san bernardino, california, 92359 grace a. adegoye department of food science, nutrition, and health promotion, mississippi state university, mississippi state, mississippi, 39762, usa erin dickinson department of food science, nutrition, and health promotion, mississippi state university, mississippi state, mississippi, 39762, usa emily mcfatter department of food science, nutrition, and health promotion, mississippi state university, mississippi state, mississippi, 39762, usa doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i12.1010 abstract background: peanuts and tree nuts contain many bioactive compounds that may provide health benefits. there is some evidence to suggest that regular consumption of peanuts and peanut butter may improve cognitive function and mood, however, there are no prior studies examining whether daily intake of dry roasted, skinless peanuts improves cognition.  objective:the objective of this study was to determine the effect of consuming 49 g/day of peanuts for 12 weeks on cognitive function and mental health, compared to consuming a peanut-free diet, among healthy young women.  methods:this was a pre-post test study of 65 women (n = 32 in peanut group, n = 29 in control group). participants in the peanut group consumed an individually portioned pack of peanuts each day for 12 weeks. cognitive function was assessed using the cns vital signs computerized neurocognitive test battery. mental health was assessed using the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (dass-42). differences in endpoints between groups were assessed using ancova tests.  results:there was a significant difference between the two groups in reaction time (6.9 points; p = 0.029), with the control group having a greater increase in scores. there was a significant within-group effect of peanuts on processing speed, with the peanut group increasing scores by 6.3 points (95% ci: 2.7, 9.8). there was no effect of peanut consumption on depression, anxiety, or stress scores.  conclusion:further research is needed to fully understand the effect of different types of peanut products on cognition.  keywords: cognition, mental health, peanuts, nuts downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-12-21 issue vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com an assessment of clinical trials used in functional food science | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 / research articles an assessment of clinical trials used in functional food science authors samantha marecek functional food center inc., dallas, tx, usa; cal poly state university, san luis obispo, ca 93407, usa danik martirosyan phd, functional food institute, dallas, tx, united states doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i2.1077 abstract abstract: the emergence of chronic diseases with nutritional origin has rendered the wide use of clinical trials and intervention strategies necessary. clinical trials have become a “gold standard” for testing the health impacts of different dietary changes; however, they also pose a potential risk to participants. particularly with clinical trials used in food studies, there is an added complexity of food chemistry and food behavior as well as unique ethical issues related to clinical nutrition trials such as a potential violation of the right to be fed, disruption of food culture, and the need for food security. thus, it becomes imperative to have a basic understanding of the key principles and methodology of different clinical trials to enable researchers to determine the best type of clinical trial for their functional food nutrition study. the progression of clinical nutrition trials is promising, but there is an increased importance of reviewing different models to determine the best method of performing nutrition-based research that minimizes the potential risk to participants while increasing current food knowledge. in this article, we aim to achieve two major goals: the first is analyzing various types of clinical trials and the second is using this analysis to figure out which type of clinical trial is ideally suited for research related to food and nutrition.  conclusion: we conclude that randomized trials are the most effective type of clinical trial used in functional food studies. randomized cluster trials and randomized parallel-group trials are particularly effective in diminishing the challenges in functional food studies that are outlined in this paper as they reduce the effects one intervention has on another intervention. keywords: clinical trials, functional food science, clinical research, functional food, food, nutrition downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-02-17 issue vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com evaluation of antioxidant potential, dna damage and hepatoprotective properties of lagenaria siceraria plant against acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 / research articles evaluation of antioxidant potential, dna damage and hepatoprotective properties of lagenaria siceraria plant against acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity authors upma singh pankaj singh pradeep kumar singh shikha shukla ram lakhan singh sukanta mondal doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i3.1072 abstract introduction: lagenaria siceraria has various pharmacological effects like antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-ulcer, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective activities and is used to treat various diseases like diabetes, jaundice, piles, ulcers, hypertension, colitis, insanity, and skin diseases. context and purpose of the study: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the phytochemical content, antioxidant activity, dna damage and hepatoprotective activities of lagenaria siceraria (ls)plant’s parts to explore their nutraceutical value. methods: phytochemical content was measured by the estimation of total phenolics, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, protein and carbohydrates while antioxidant activities were investigated by assaying the parameters of free radical scavenging activity, lipid peroxidation, superoxide anion radical scavenging activity, reducing power, and dna damage protection assay. hepatoprotective activity of ls leaf was measured by assaying cell viability, superoxide dismutase activity, malondialdehyde and nitric oxide formation. results: among the tested plant samples, ls leaves showed high contents of total phenolics, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, and protein contents whereas ls fruits have high carbohydrate contents. evaluation of antioxidant activities in different parts of the ls plant showed that the ls leaf has high antioxidant properties as compared to other plant parts. the l. siceraria leaf also showed dna protection activities against fenton’s reagent as well as uv induced hydroxyl radical’s damage. to test the hepatoprotective activity of ls leaf against acetaminophen, induced hepatocellular toxicity and leaf extract concentrations of 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 μg/104 cells were administered to cultured hepatocytes before acetaminophen exposure. the experimental results showed that ls leaf extract restores superoxide dismutase activity and reduces malondialdehyde and nitric oxide formation as compared to acetaminophen alone treated cultured cells. conclusion: our findings suggest that leaves of l. siceraria plants have high antioxidant potential and dna damage-protective and hepatoprotective activities. hence, the leaf part of this plant may be used in different food applications to provide nutritional and health benefits, as well as in various liver care herbal formulations. keywords: antioxidant, hepatoprotective activity, hepatocytes, lipid peroxidation, total phenolics  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-03-16 issue vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com some parameters of hydroponic and soil rhubarb cultivated in the ararat valley of armenia | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 / research articles some parameters of hydroponic and soil rhubarb cultivated in the ararat valley of armenia authors mahsa daryadar artur matevosyan hamid reza roosta mansour ghorbanpour anjelika stepanyan aristakes ghahramanyan anna tadevosyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i8.1401 abstract background: today, the rhubarb plant is selectively included in the diet. rhubarb juice offers a unique flavor with a surprising range of potential health benefits. rhubarb is rich in antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins, the pigments responsible for its red hue. these antioxidants are believed to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, potentially aiding in the fight against various health concerns. rhubarb juice is an excellent source of vitamins c, and k, crucial for bone health and blood clotting, and also contains vitamin a, contributing to healthy skin and vision.  context and purpose of this study: to investigate for the first time the cultivation of rhubarb (rheum rhabarbarum) in the ararat valley of armenia in both hydroponic and soil conditions. the research focuses on identifying the optimal growth period to maximize key quality indicators of rhubarb stalks and juice for food and medicinal applications: brix value, juice density, total titratable acidity, and vitamin c content. results: hydroponic cultivation significantly (by three folds) increased the fresh weight of rhubarb petioles (stalks) compared to soil plants. the maximum accumulation of vitamin c in hydroponic plants was observed at the beginning (june) and end (september) of the growing season (19.4 and 17.3 mg%) respectively. however, there was not a significant difference in vitamin c content during july and august (14.3 and 14.0 mg% respectively). soil plants showed the highest accumulation of vitamin c in september (41.5 mg%), exceeding the values in june by 1.2 times and from july to august by 1.5 times. total titratable acidity showed seasonal variations: the highest acidity (1.2 to 1.3-fold higher) of hydroponic rhubarb juice was observed in july compared to other months. soil-grown rhubarb reached peak acidity at the beginning of the growing season (approximately 1.2 times higher than in other months). the brixo value and juice density peaked in july for hydroponic rhubarb and in august for soil rhubarb. conclusion: this study highlights the potential of hydroponics for maximizing rhubarb yield and potentially influencing the vitamin c content and acidity profile throughout the growing season in armenia. the results of further research could be used to optimize nutrient composition and environmental parameters for even greater control over rhubarb quality for food and medicinal purposes. keywords: vitamin c, total titratable acidity, brixo, juice density downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-08-07 issue vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com influence of pretreatment methods and addition of fragrant plants on gnetum gnemon var tenerum powder tea | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 / research articles influence of pretreatment methods and addition of fragrant plants on gnetum gnemon var tenerum powder tea authors rungnapa anankarnkit suppakarn muneewan worapong usawakesmanee sunisa siripongvutikorn doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i1.1504 abstract background: enhancing the utility of fresh vegetables, such as liang leaves, is commonly achieved through drying and powdering as functional ingredients and food. in a preliminary study, liang leaves displayed similar color, appearance, and texture attributes to japanese and chinese teas, but the flavor of the liang drink significantly diminished. this research highlights the potential of the highly sought-after gastronomic vegetable, gnetum gnemon var tenerum, as liang, a thai indigenous vegetable, but there is still a shortfall of scientific documentation. this work introduced the antioxidants of liang leaves to create a new health-impact drinking product. objective: the research aimed to study the improvement of antioxidant activity and flavor using pretreatments, including withering, steaming, rolling, and steamed-rolling, and following the addition of fragrant plants.  method: liang leaves were pretreated by withering, steaming, rolling, and steaming rolling before drying. then, the best condition was selected to add fragrant plants. results: withering gave the highest total polyphenol content at 26.95±0.47 mg gae/g dw compared with the other treatments (p<0.05), while higher dpph scavenging activity was noticed in the steaming-rolling treatment (p<0.05). however, sensory evaluation results were not significantly different (p>0.05) in each pretreated tea. steaming-rolling was selected based on the high antioxidant activity for further fragrance improvement using the powder of pandanus amaryllifolius roxb leaves and chrysanthemum indicum l flowers at various ratios. the highest sensory score was recorded in tea made from a mixture of liang leaf powder, p. amaryllifolius leaf powder, and c. indicum flower powder at a ratio of 60:0:40. the tpc and dpph scavenging activities of the mixed tea powders were tested, with results of 25.08±0.93 mg gae/g dw and 11.70±0.26 mg gae/g dw, respectively. in addition, this product could be a good source of tpc and antioxidant activity judged by ascorbic acid as 332.33±6.94 mg ae / g dw. conclusion: the steaming-rolling treatment of liang powder had the highest antioxidant activity, and then adding chrysanthemum indicum l flowers powder at a ratio of 60:40 improved flavor, total polyphenol content, and antioxidant activity. the thai indigenous vegetable, liang leaves powder, is aimed for a novo alternative drink promoting health benefits. keywords: liang leaves, tea, pretreatment, flavor, antioxidant activity downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-01-14 issue vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-obesity effect of microalga, melosira nummuloieds ethanolic extract in high-fat-diet-induced obesity c57bl/6j mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 / research articles anti-obesity effect of microalga, melosira nummuloieds ethanolic extract in high-fat-diet-induced obesity c57bl/6j mice authors injue yun jiwon choi hyeonjeong choe ki-ok kim gyung min go dae-hee lee mi-yeon kim doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i12.1002 abstract background: melosira nummuloides is a microalga belonging to the melosiracease diatom. the ability of the diatoms to mass-produce essential fatty acids and carotenoid pigments was reported, which has driven research and their industrial application. melosira nummuloides mass-cultivated with jeju lava sea water contains fucoxanthin, which has excellent biological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-obesity activities. the effect of m. nummuloides ethanolic extract (mee) on the reduction of fat accumulation was evaluated. methods: c57bl/6j mice fed a high-fat diet (hfd) were treated over 8 weeks with melosira ethanolic extract. cholesterol in serum and triglyceride in liver after the 8-week were evaluated. the expression of srebp-1c, fas, ppar-γ, scd-1 and p-ampk were measured by western blotting respectively. results: the mee-treated c57bl/6j showed significant body weight and visceral fat loss compared to hfd group. cholesterol in serum and triglyceride levels in liver showed a significant decrease in mee groups. levels of srebp-1c, fas, ppar-γ and scd-1 were low in mice fed an hfd+mee. conclusion: these results show mee reduces blood lipid levels by regulating the expression of factors related to lipid synthesis and adipocyte differentiation in adipose tissue and inhibiting new lipid synthesis in the liver. m. nummuloides ethanolic extract confirmed its suitability as an anti-obesity agent. keywords: melosira nummuloides; c57bl/6j mice; obesity: weight loss; fatty acid synthesis downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-12-02 issue vol. 12 no. 12 (2022): december 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of theracurmin® consumption on liver function, fatigue, and sleep: a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled, parallel-comparison study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 6 (2021): june 2021 / research articles effects of theracurmin® consumption on liver function, fatigue, and sleep: a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled, parallel-comparison study authors yoshitaka kuwabara akiko hirose hyunjin lee daisuke hashimoto shin-ichiro iio tsuyoshi takara doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i6.794 abstract objective: to evaluate the effects of the eight-week consumption of theracurmin® on liver function, fatigue, and sleep. methods: this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-comparison study involving 68 healthy japanese adults. subjects were allocated into either the active (theracurmin®) or placebo group (n = 34 each) using a random number generator. subjects consumed two capsules per day of either the active or placebo food for eight weeks. the primary outcome was the serum alanine aminotransferase (alt) levels at eight weeks, whereas the secondary outcomes were the biomarkers of liver function, comparison of the percentages of improvement in liver function based on the decision criteria, osa sleep inventory ma version (osa-ma), and visual analog scale of fatigue. results: each group included 33 subjects in the full analysis set. alt levels in the per protocol set analysis, except for subjects drinking quantities of alcohol that increase the risk of lifestyle-related disease onset, showed a significant decrease in alt compared to the placebo group (p < 0.05). the subjective symptom in the fatigue recovery factor of osa-ma was significantly improved through the intervention (p < 0.05). the fatigue recovery effect of theracurmin® was prominent in the subjects aged ≥ 45 years, the age group defined by the ministry of health, labour and welfare as middle-aged and older persons in the act on stabilization of employment of elderly. no adverse event was observed. conclusions: these results suggest that the consumption of theracurmin® or eight weeks improved liver function and fatigue recovery at awakening in healthy japanese adults. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000039319. foundation: theravalues corporation keywords: highly bioavailable curcumin, liver function, alanine aminotransferase (alt), osa sleep inventory ma version, fatigue recovery downloads [abstract] [full article] [appendix] published 2021-06-17 issue vol. 11 no. 6 (2021): june 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com exploring the potential of pomegranate (punica granatum) peel extract and punicalagin as novel anti-hypercholesterolemic agents | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 / research articles exploring the potential of pomegranate (punica granatum) peel extract and punicalagin as novel anti-hypercholesterolemic agents authors parva dehghani motahareh masjedi laleh shariati golnaz vaseghi nasim dana mehrdad zeinalian sedigheh asgary doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i4.1320 abstract background: hypercholesterolemia, characterized by elevated low-density lipoprotein (ldl) cholesterol levels, is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. familial and behavioral factors contribute to its onset, and while lifestyle changes offer some benefits, medical interventions are essential to manage this condition effectively. statins, the primary medications used to lower ldl cholesterol, have limitations, including the unintended upregulation of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (pcsk9). therefore, exploring alternative approaches to enhance ldl receptor expression while targeting pcsk9 is crucial, with herbal medicine showing promise in this endeavor. objective: this study investigates the potential of pomegranate peel extract and punicalagin, a key pomegranate component, in lowering ldl cholesterol in hepg2 cells. the research explores their effects on ldl receptor (ldlr) expression, ldl uptake, and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (pcsk9) gene expression. methods: hepg2 cells were treated with different concentrations of pomegranate peel extract (37.5, 75, 150, and 300 μg/ml) and punicalagin (12.5, 25, 50, and 100 μg/ml). next, the viability of hepg2 cells, the protein levels of ldl receptors and ldl uptake, and the expression levels of pcsk9 were measured. results: pomegranate peel extract (37.5, 75, 150, and 300 μg/ml) and punicalagin (12.5, 25, 50, and 100 μg/ml) did not exhibit significant cytotoxicity and significantly increased ldlr protein levels (p-value= 0.00, after 24 hours) and ldl cholesterol uptake (p-value= 0.00, after 24 hours). furthermore, they exhibited a dose-dependent reduction in the expression of pcsk9 (pomegranate: p-value= 0.01; punicalagin: p-value= 0.00).  conclusion: these findings suggest that pomegranate peel extract and punicalagin have the potential to serve as effective agents in managing hypercholesterolemia by enhancing ldl receptor expression and reducing pcsk9 expression in hepg2 cells. further research is required to explore their effects on transcription factors and pcsk9 function. keywords: pomegranate; punicalagin; hepg2 cell; ldl; cardiovascular; punica granatum downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-04-30 issue vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com review on physicochemical, medicinal and nutraceutical properties of poppy seeds: a potential functional food ingredient | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 / review articles review on physicochemical, medicinal and nutraceutical properties of poppy seeds: a potential functional food ingredient authors aleem muhammad punjab food authority, lahore aqsa akhtar school of food and agricultural sciences, university of management and technology, lahore, punjab, pakistan sadia aslam school of food and agricultural sciences, university of management and technology, lahore, punjab, pakistan rao sanaullah khan school of food and agricultural sciences, university of management and technology, lahore, punjab, pakistan zaheer ahmed department of home and health sciences, allama iqbal open university, islamabad, pakistan nauman khalid school of food and agricultural sciences, university of management and technology, lahore, punjab, pakistan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i10.836 abstract the poppy seed plant (papaver somniferum l.) is well known for its health benefits. it contains plenty of nutrients including proteins, oil content, dietary fiber, antioxidants, tocopherols and other micronutrients. it is also under exploration considering its in vitro bioactive potential against various health issues such as hypertension, pain and cancer. poppy is mainly grown for its opium and oil contents; however, poppy seeds are also widely used for cooking purposes. poppy seeds contain various essential bioactive compounds including alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and polyunsaturated fatty acids that can be effectively used as food ingredients in various applications. poppyseed oil is considered a good quality oil owing to its rich polyunsaturated fatty acid content. thus, tremendous potential exists in poppy seeds to be used as functional food ingredients and nutraceutical agents in various formulations. medicinal and functional uses of poppy seed have been discussed, including some aspects of the utilization of the poppy seeds in the food industry. further research is required to bring out its ingredient potential in food and health supplements.  keywords: poppy, seed oil, health attributes, industrial uses, medicinal uses downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-10-13 issue vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the phytochemical study of eleutherococcus senticosus (rupr. & maxim) leaves in hydroponics and soil culture | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / research articles the phytochemical study of eleutherococcus senticosus (rupr. & maxim) leaves in hydroponics and soil culture authors anush vardanyan laura ghalachyan anna tadevosyan varduhi baghdasaryan anjelika stepanyan mahsa daryadar doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1183 abstract background: in the medical fieldeleutherococcus senticosus (rupr. & maxim) (e. senticosus) or siberian ginseng is known as a natural adaptogen and immunomodulator. all parts of e. senticosus: roots, stems, leaves, and berries, have medicinal properties. in medicine, e. senticosus is used to treat depression, alzheimer's and parkinson’s diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cerebral ischemia, and diabetes. the adaptogenic properties of the plant are related to its rich composition of biologically active compounds (phenylpropanoids, eleuterosides, flavonoids, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, vitamins, etc.). e. senticosus activates the body’s protection mechanisms, directly affecting tissue metabolism. it increases mental and physical performance, immunity, and protects from stress, making its use important in sports medicine and the military. the use of e. senticosus in food and dietary supplements has become popular in recent years, whereas some studies suggest that its potential benefits are the reduction of stress and enhancement of immune system function.  objective: to study the content of the main biologically active compounds of medicinal raw material (leaves) of e. senticosus, cultivated in outdoor hydroponics and soil conditions during different stages of growth and development.  methods: the spectrophotometric method was used to determine the content of total phenols, flavonoids, phenolic acids and eleutherosides in a 70 % water-alcohol extract from e. senticosus dry leaves at different phases of vegetation period. the spectra were recorded using an agilent cary 60 uv-vis spectrophotometer. moreover, the content of extractive substances was determined, and the content of vitamin c, and β-carotene in fresh leaves (state pharmacopoeia 2015). results:the results of our study showed that levels of phenolic compounds in the leaves of e. senticosus obtained in hydroponics and soil culture are the highest during the flowering phase (august-september). it was observed that during the flowering period, the content of total phenols, phenolic acids, and eleutherosides was 1.3 times higher, and flavonoids 1.2 times higher compared to the vegetative phase. it is worth noting that the content of vitamin “c”, β-carotene and extractives was also higher during the flowering period. hydroponic plants had higher content of vitamin “c”, β-carotene, and extractives, respectively by 1.4, 1.2 and 1.2 times compared to soil plants. this could be due to several factors such as the optimal content of nutrients (n=200 mg/l, p=65 mg/l, k=350 mg/l), and the high content of oxygen in the hydroponic system.  conclusion: according to the results of a phytochemical study of e. senticosus leaves grown in outdoor hydroponics and soil culture in the ararat valley, the highest content of biologically active compounds (eleutherosides, phenols, phenolic acids, vitamins) is recorded in hydroponic plants in the flowering period. in general, the research has practical importance,since the e. senticosus plants grown in hydroponic conditions can be a rich source for the production of natural food and dietary supplements.  keywords:biologically active compounds, adaptogen, eleutherosides, flavonoids, phenolic acids, medicinal raw material downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-02 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the improvement of daily fatigue in women following the intake of maca (lepidium meyenii) extract containing benzyl glucosinolate | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 / research articles the improvement of daily fatigue in women following the intake of maca (lepidium meyenii) extract containing benzyl glucosinolate authors atsushi honma kinos, inc., 1-3-17 shinkawa, chuo-ku, tokyo, 104-0033, japan yumi fujiwara department of kampo pharmaceutical science, nihon pharmaceutical university, 10281 komuro, ina-machi, kitaadachi-gun, saitama 362-0806, japan shin takei kinos, inc., 1-3-17 shinkawa, chuo-ku, tokyo, 104-0033, japan takao kino kinos, inc., 1-3-17 shinkawa, chuo-ku, tokyo, 104-0033, japan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i4.912 abstract background: daily fatigue is a problem for many people because of its association with other illnesses. maca has lately attracted considerable attention as a food for recovering from fatigue. maca is high in benzyl glucosinolate which improves endurance capacity by preventing glycogen depletion. however, its effect on fatigue has not been investigated in clinical trials on humans. objective: the main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of maca supplements on reducing fatigue. methods: this study evaluated the effect of the consumption of maca extract containing benzyl glucosinolate (9.6 mg/day) on fatigue in adult women. this randomized, placebo–controlled, parallel–group double–blind study enrolled 60 subjects who were allocated to consume maca extract or placebo for 4 weeks. a visual analogue scale (vas) for fatigue was used to evaluate the results. blood variables and adverse events were used to assess safety. results: in both groups, the vas of fatigue was decreased after 4 weeks compared with that before consumption. on stratification analysis, in subjects younger than 45 years, the vas was significantly lower in the maca group, and the change between before and after supplementation was significantly larger in this group.  conclusions: it was suggested that intake of maca extract containing benzyl glucosinolate may have anti–fatigue effects in young women. so, maca supplements containing benzyl glucosinolate represent a food and drug candidate for reducing fatigue. keywords: maca, lepidium meyenii, benzyl glucosinolate, daily fatigue, visual analogue scale downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-04-28 issue vol. 12 no. 4 (2022): april 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com polysaccharides from split gill mushrooms ( schizophyllum commune fr.) improve glucose metabolism and reduce muscleinflammation in a rat model of type 2 diabetes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 / research articles polysaccharides from split gill mushrooms (schizophyllum commune fr.) improve glucose metabolism and reduce muscleinflammation in a rat model of type 2 diabetes authors wipapan khimmaktong udomlak matsathit supada nuinamwong decha sermwittayawong patranis chubuathong yaowapa sukpondma nisaudah radenahmad manaras komolkriengkrai doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i8.1705 abstract background: chronic hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm) contributes to muscle inflammation and impaired glucose metabolism. this study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of polysaccharides extracted from schizophyllum commune fr. (split gill mushroom) on glucose metabolism and muscle inflammation in a rat model of insulin resistance. methods: male wistar rats were divided into five groups: normal diet (nd), nd with 240 mg/kg body weight (bw) s. commune polysaccharides (nd240), high-fat diet-induced diabetic rats (hfd+dm), hfd+dm treated with s. commune polysaccharides (hfd+s240), and hfd+dm treated with metformin (hfd+met). blood glucose levels were monitored weekly for eight weeks. muscle tissues were then collected for histological staining, elisa, immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy to assess inflammation markers (tnf-α, il-1β) and expression of glucose transporter 4 (glut4) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (glp-1r). results: rats in the hfd+dm group exhibited elevated blood glucose levels, increased inflammation, and reduced glut4 and glp-1r expression. treatment with s. commune polysaccharides significantly lowered blood glucose levels, reduced inflammatory markers, and restored the expression of glut4 and glp-1r, with results comparable to metformin-treated rats. conclusions: these findings suggest that s. commune polysaccharides may ameliorate hyperglycemia-induced muscle inflammation and enhance insulin sensitivity, supporting their potential as a natural therapeutic candidate for managing t2dm. novelty: this study demonstrates, for the first time, that polysaccharides extracted from schizophyllum commune fr. (split gill mushroom) significantly reduce muscle inflammation and improve glucose metabolism in a high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model. the crude extract restored glut4 and glp-1 receptor expression, decreased tnf-α and il-1β levels, and preserved muscle fiber architecture, as confirmed by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. these findings suggest a novel therapeutic role of s. commune polysaccharides in ameliorating diabetesrelated muscle dysfunction. keywords: diabetes, muscle, polysaccharide, schizophyllum commune fr., glut4, glp-1r downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-08-07 issue vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com reproductive health-promoting effects of functional foods | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 / review articles reproductive health-promoting effects of functional foods authors omowumi kayode nkechinyere j. ohanaka ikeoluwa o. kolawole olatayo a. afolabi matthew e. iyobhebhe doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i9.1130 abstract functional foods are foods that, in addition to providing basic nutrients, have health-promoting effects when ingested consistently over a period of time. these foods can exist in their natural forms or might have been enhanced through fortification, biotransformation, or genetic modification. globally, a lot of attention has been drawn to its consumption as a cheaper and safer remedy for the prevention, treatment, and management of several health-related conditions, including those of reproductive difficulties such as infertility. infertility is a condition that is prevalent among some married couples and involves difficulty in procreation after about twelve months of unprotected intercourse between heterosexual couples. oxidative stress-related infertility can be managed by functional foods rich in antioxidants and other phytochemicals with modulatory effects on reproductive tissues. consumption of prescribed functional foods can alleviate functional disorders of the reproductive tissues and hence encourage higher success rates at conception trials. keywords: functional foods, reproductive, infertility, health, antioxidants downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-09-27 issue vol. 13 no. 9 (2023): september 2023 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com precise nutritional modulation of cancer biomarkers through the employment of functional foods and bioactive compounds | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 / research articles precise nutritional modulation of cancer biomarkers through the employment of functional foods and bioactive compounds authors jacqueline mccarthy danik martirosyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i7.1686 abstract cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, prompting growing interest in preventive strategies that target early molecular changes. functional foods (ffs), defined as bioactive-rich dietary components with health-promoting properties, have emerged as promising modulators of cancer-related biomarkers. this article reviews clinical and preclinical evidence on the influence of ffs and food bioactive compounds(fbcs) on key biomarkers, such as including her2, ki-67, psa, and cea, across various cancer types. mechanistic insights reveal that these dietary compounds exert their effects through epigenetic modulation, anti-inflammatory signaling, reduction of oxidative stress, and regulation of apoptosis and the gut microbiome. applications of these findings extend to biomarker-based early detection, dietary chemoprevention, and personalized nutrition strategies. however, limitations such as biomarker specificity, variable bioavailability, and a lack of long-term randomized trials continue to hinder clinical translation. future directions emphasize the need for integrated omics approaches, development of multi-marker panels, and personalized dietary interventions supported by novel delivery systems. ffs hold significant promise in oncology, but rigorous, longitudinal studies are essential to validate their role in cancer prevention and precision medicine. novelty: this article uniquely synthesizes current clinical and preclinical evidence linking ffs and bcs to specific cancer-related biomarkers, while emphasizing mechanistic pathways and translational challenges. it further proposes integrated omics-based strategies and personalized nutrition approaches to enhance biomarker-guided cancer prevention, —an area that remains underexplored in current literature. keywords: functional foods, bioactive compounds, cancer biomarkers, chemoprevention, epigenetics, metabolomics, personalized nutrition, sulforaphane, bioavailability, dietary intervention, early detection. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-07-19 issue vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com nutritional and anti-gastro ulcerative role of the gum arabic (acacia senegal l.) compared to a reference drug | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 / research articles nutritional and anti-gastro ulcerative role of the gum arabic (acacia senegal l.) compared to a reference drug authors qaswaa yousif jameel department of food science, colleges of agricultural and forestry, university of mosul, mosul, iraq mohammed abdullah ajeel colleges of pharmacy, university of mosul, mosul, iraq nameer khairullah mohammed department of food science, college of agriculture, tikrit university 3400, tikrit, iraq doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i6.929 abstract background: as alcohol consumption increases, ethanol impacts ulcers as a factor that causes stomach mucosal invasion, which leads to stomach ulcers. alcohol damages the stomach through a number of processes, including increased gastric secretion, the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and ethanol induces a variety of pathogenic events as it is associated with the formation of stomach ulcers. objective: the goal of this study was to see if gum arabic as a functional food could protect albino rats against ethanol-induced stomach damage. materials and methods: six groups of 30 female albino rats were formed: normal control, ulcer control, omeprazole + ethanol, and groups 4, 5, and 6, which were given ga at 7.5, 12, 25 g/ kg/ day (bw), then lab rat were given 5 ml/kg /day (bw) ethanol orally for 30 days to cause stomach mucosal damage. results: ga suppressed gastric inflammation by lowering tnf-α and il-6 levels while increasing il-10 levels. ga also improved hdl, total protein, albumin, and globulin levels while lowering cholesterol, triglycerides, vldl-c, ldl-c, and phospholipids. conclusion: these findings demonstrate that ga plays a protective role toward gastric mucosal injury in rats induced by ethanol, which in turn reduced the inflammatory response, and significantly reduced the hemorrhagic gastric lesions and the ph of the gastric contents.   keywords: functional food, alcoholic, polysaccharides, soluble fiber, tumor necrosis factor alpha, oxidative stress   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-06-23 issue vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com chemical, microbial and safety profiling of a standardized withania somnifera (ashwagandha) extract and withaferin a, a potent novel phytotherapeutic of the millennium | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 / research articles chemical, microbial and safety profiling of a standardized withania somnifera (ashwagandha) extract and withaferin a, a potent novel phytotherapeutic of the millennium authors pawan kumar samudra p. banik apurva goel sanjoy chakraborty manashi bagchi debasis bagchi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i2.1071 abstract background:withania somnifera (l.) dunal, popularly known as ashwagandha, is an ethnomedicinal plant with multiple pharmacotherapeutic applications. the diverse medicinal properties of the plant are largely due to the presence of withanolides, a group of c28 ergostane based steroidal lactones, with several sites of unsaturation and oxygenation. withaferin a, a major with anolide present in ashwagandha plant accounts for its emerging new roles to treat cancer, arthritis, inflammatory responses, immunomodulatory properties, and neuronal disorders. the root and leaf extracts are specifically important constituent materials for the development of phytotherapeutics, mostly intended for oral consumption. several studies have been carried out to delineate the toxic manifestations of the extract for human consumption. objective:establish the broad-spectrum safety of w-ferinamax ashwagandha (wfa). study: this investigation demonstrated a novel, standardized w-ferinamax ashwagandha (wfa) extraction technology from the whole herb of withania sominfera, conducted hplc analysis to identify the constituents, detected the heavy metals, microbiological contaminants, pesticides contaminants, and safety profile. results:a novel extraction technology was employed to obtain wfa from the whole plant of withania sominfera. hplc analysis revealed that wfa contains a total of 15.4% withanolides. in particular, withaferin a, withanoside iv, and withanolide a contents were 6.469%, 1.022%, and 0.073%, respectively. the extract contained only 0.403 ppm of heavy metals out of which traces of arsenic, mercury and lead were detected, and cadmium was absent. usp recommended 80 residue basic pesticide screen indicated that the extraction was safe for human consumption. it was also found to be free from pathogenic microbes as assessed by the absence of e. coli and other coliforms, salmonella and staphylococcus species. conclusion: the data generated cumulatively indicated that wfa is safe for further downstream processing to and for human consumption. keywords: ashwagandha, withaferin a, phytotherapeutics, material safety; heavy metals; pesticides downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-02-23 issue vol. 13 no. 2 (2023): february 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com health benefits of olive oil and by-products and possible innovative applications for industrial processes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 7 (2021): july 2021 / review articles health benefits of olive oil and by-products and possible innovative applications for industrial processes authors mariangela centrone university of bari marianna ranieri university of bari annarita di mise university of bari mariagrazia d'agostino university of bari maria venneri university of bari giovanna valenti university of bari grazia tamma university of bari doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i7.800 abstract in the last few years, the production of olive oil has incredibly increased due to its beneficial properties on human health. on the other hand, the amount of waste and by-products derived from the olive oil industry has increased as well, prompting the development of new fields of research aiming to reduce disposal costs and valorize bioactive compounds from the viewpoint of the green economy. interestingly, olive oil and by-products contain numerous molecules, including phenols, exhibiting pleiotropic effects in both in vitro and in vivo studies. this review aims to describe the more recent studies focusing to identify and describe the potential roles and the new applications of extracts isolated from wastes and by-products or specific compounds, such as hydroxytyrosol (ht) and oleuropein. extracts or bioactive molecules from olive oil and by-products have been proposed as a food additive, to produce biofuel, for animal feeding, and to create new matrices in bioremediation protocols. moreover, bio-compounds have been described to have numerous beneficial effects on human health as they reduce the risk of developing certain chronic diseases. despite the already published studies, more research is necessary to valorize bioactive compounds in olive oil and by-products, as well as their potential use to improve human health and green applications in different industrial processes.                   keywords: extra virgin olive oil, by-products, olive leaf extract, bioactive compounds, human health, and industrial application author biographies mariangela centrone, university of bari department of biosciences, biotechnologies and biopharmaceutics, university of bari, italy marianna ranieri, university of bari department of biosciences, biotechnologies and biopharmaceutics, university of bari, italy annarita di mise, university of bari department of biosciences, biotechnologies and biopharmaceutics, university of bari, italy mariagrazia d'agostino, university of bari department of biosciences, biotechnologies and biopharmaceutics, university of bari, italy maria venneri, university of bari department of biosciences, biotechnologies and biopharmaceutics, university of bari, italy giovanna valenti, university of bari department of biosciences, biotechnologies and biopharmaceutics, university of bari, italy grazia tamma, university of bari department of biosciences, biotechnologies and biopharmaceutics, university of bari, italy downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-07-16 issue vol. 11 no. 7 (2021): july 2021 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of electron beam on oxidative stress and inflammatory factors in diabetes mellitus: an in vitro and in vivo study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 7 (2021): july 2021 / research articles the effect of electron beam on oxidative stress and inflammatory factors in diabetes mellitus: an in vitro and in vivo study authors danik martirosyan phd, functional food institute, dallas, tx, united states masoomeh shahnazari-aval department of radio-oncology, cancer institute, valiasr hospital, school of medicine, tehran university of medical science, tehran, iran mohammad reza ashoori department of laboratory sciences, school of allied medical sciences, zanjan university of medical sciences, zanjan, iran afsaneh seyed mikaeili department of molecular and cellular sciences, faculty of advanced sciences and technology, islamic azad university, pharmaceutical sciences branch, tehran, iran manouchehr nakhjavani endocrinology and metabolism research center (emrc), vali-asr hospital, school of medicine, tehran university of medical sciences, tehran, iran hossein mirmiranpour endocrinology and metabolism research center (emrc), vali-asr hospital, school of medicine, tehran university of medical sciences, tehran, iran doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i7.803 abstract background: the main purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not electron beam therapy (ebt) was an effective method in terms of moderating oxidative stress by reducing free radicals in balb/c mice with type 1 diabetes mellitus. methods: the study was performed on thirty balb/c mice in three groups including normal control, diabetic control, and ebt treated. before studying the effect of electron beam on the studied groups, optimal level of constant source-to-surface distance, as well as the effects of ebt on glutathione reductase (gr) structure and function were determined. after studying the structure and the function of gr protein with three methods including fluorometry, circular dichroism (cd), and activity assay methods, ssd 100 was selected for ebt. glucose, advanced glycation end-products, gr, oxidative stress factors such as hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, advanced oxidation protein products, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, and inflammatory factors were measured in the serum of all groups. results: the results of in vitro study showed that electron beam therapy could increase glutathione reductase activity, which was not significant. also, the results were compared between and within groups using one-way analysis of variance. significant differences were observed for all variables measured between the normal control group and the other groups (p < 0.05). there was also no significant difference in blood glucose levels between the electron beam therapy treated group and the diabetic one (p > 0.05). conclusion: the results suggested that electron beam therapy could be effective in reducing free radicals and oxidative stress. electron beam therapy, as a complementary method, might aid in moderating the complications of diabetes mellitus. keywords: diabetes mellitus, electron beam, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-07-21 issue vol. 11 no. 7 (2021): july 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of moringa grown in hydroponics and soil in ararat valley | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 8 (2023): august 2023 / research articles hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of moringa grown in hydroponics and soil in ararat valley authors anna tadevosyan anahit hakobjanyan anahit tovmasyan armenuhi asatryan hamid reza roosta mahsa daryadar doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i8.1158 abstract background: moringa has a hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic influence, and the water extract of its leaves can decrease the amount of glucose during diabetes mellitus. moringa leaves in extract or powder form influenced type i and type ii diabetes by enhancing insulin secretion and improving glycogen synthesis and glucose uptake in the liver and muscles. this occurred in the case of type i diabetes, as well as  by inhibiting glucose uptake and slowing gastric emptying in the case of type ii diabetes. objective: in our study, we try to evaluate the hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antistress activity of moringa grown for the first time in armenia in hydroponic and soil conditions to find out the beneficial cultivation method of moringa from the point of view of these activities. materials and methods: the study was done with the usage of a rabbit model, using water extract of moringa leaves made with a 150 mg count of leaves on 1 kg weight of the animal. hyperglycemia in the rabbits was induced by 21-day immobilization stress (3 hours a day). rabbits were divided into 4 groups: the first  group was treated with the extract from the hydroponic moringa in a dose of 2 ml/day, the second group received the extract from the soil moringain a dose of 2 ml/day, the third group was the control—which did not receive any extract, but was exposed to stress, like first  and second  groups— and the fourth  group was the norm, which did not receive any extract and was stress free. each group included 3 animals as means of replication. the glycogen level was measured in the livers, hearts, and muscles of rabbits. the level of glucose, total cholesterol, hdl, and ldl were measured in the serum of animals. results: our results showed that after a 21-day period of stress, the increased level of glucose stays at a high level in control groups, while the use of a hydroponic moringa extract developed stress tolerance in animals and in soil moringa extract stabilizes glucose levels in the blood. the cholesterol exceeded the norm 1.8 times in the control group and was inferior in hydroponic and soil groups by 1.5 and 1.4 times, respectively. these changes reflect the amount of hdl and ldl. under stress conditions, the quantity of glycogen decreased from the norm in the liver, muscles, and heart muscle in the control group (2.5; 2.4; and 2.4 times, respectively) and increased in hydroponic (1.6; 1.5; and 2.1 times, respectively) and soil (1.6; 1.5; and 2.4 times, respectively) groups. this evidence shows that under stress conditions the glucose level of blood is improved on the 21st day of stress in groups that received the extract of moringa because of glucose exchange to glycogen with high efficiency in different organs. keywords:  antistress activity, diabetes, hdl, glucose, moringa oleifera, total cholesterol downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-08-31 issue vol. 13 no. 8 (2023): august 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com characterization of glucose oxidase from penicillium chrysogenum mdc 8358: prospects for application in food industry | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / research articles characterization of glucose oxidase from penicillium chrysogenum mdc 8358: prospects for application in food industry authors ani m. paloyan karine g. dukova artur a. hambardzumyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1216 abstract backgrounds: food enzymes play a crucial role in enhancing specific food attributes, such as improving texture, eliminating toxins and allergens, producing carbohydrates, and enhancing flavor and appearance characteristics. glucose oxidase (gox) catalyzes the oxidation of glucose to produce gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, making it applicable in various practical scenarios. this enzyme could be utilized to eliminate glucose, thereby facilitating the creation of functional food suitable for individuals with diabetes and glucose intolerance.our main goal was to characterize gox from a penicillium chrysogenum strain isolated from armenian ecosystems. methods:gox of p. chrysogenum mdc 8358 was obtained by surface fermentation using glucose as a carbon source.  the enzyme was purified 230-fold to homogeneity using a three-step purification scheme consisting of ion exchange, adsorption, and gel filtration chromatography.   results:the specific activity of the purified enzyme reached 271.2 u/mg. gox from p. chrysogenum mdc 8358 has shown to be dimeric with a molecular weight of 135.5 kda, consisting of two equal subunits with a molecular weight of 70 kda. isoelectric focusing has revealed a ph of 4.6. the enzyme has displayed a temperature optimum of 40 °c, and a ph optimum of 6.8, being more thermostable at acidic ph. characterized gox was highly specific for β-d-glucose and has shown only minor activities to mannose, xylose, and galactose.  keywords:penicillium chrysogenum mdc 8358, surface fermentation, glucose oxidase, purification, characterization, functional food preservation downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-15 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the beneficial effects of monoglucosyl hesperidin and monoglucosyl rutin on vascular flexibility: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 / research articles the beneficial effects of monoglucosyl hesperidin and monoglucosyl rutin on vascular flexibility: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study authors yushi hashizume mahamadou tandia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i5.1319 abstract background: there is mounting evidence that the intake of polyphenols can help prevent cardiovascular complications. furthermore, multiple intakes of different polyphenol compounds are expected to have a synergistic effect. however, few studies have examined the preventive effect of simultaneous polyphenol intake on cardiovascular complications in healthy adults.  objective: the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of daily intake of 70 mg of monoglucosyl hesperidin (mh) alone, or in combination with 140 mg of monoglucosyl rutin (mr), in improving vascular flexibility. methods: this 8-week study was conducted on 66 healthy male and female participants with a relatively high body mass index (bmi) and low vascular flexibility. the participants were randomly assigned to an mh group (mh alone), mhmr group (combination of mh and mr), or placebo group by a computer-generated list (each n = 22). participants took two tablets per day of either mh, mhmr or placebo during the intervention. outcomes included vascular function indices, capillary flow, and inflammatory markers. assessment points were at 4 weeks (4w) and 8 weeks (8w) of the intervention. results: the primary outcome was flow-mediated dilation. in an analysis including participants whose left brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (bapwv) was ≥1232.5 cm/s at baseline in the per-protocol set, the mhmr group showed significant improvement compared with the placebo group in flow-mediated dilation, maximum post-avascularization artery diameter, bapwv (each and average of both legs), and e-selectin at 8w. conclusion: these results indicated that mh, in combination with mr, may act on vascular endothelial cells to improve vascular flexibility in healthy adults with a relatively lowvascular flexibility. (umin000046054). keywords: monoglucosyl hesperidin; monoglucosyl rutin; flow-mediated dilation; e-selectin; pulse wave velocity, body mass index, vascular flexibility downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-05-23 issue vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of dietary supplementation with fermented papaya on oxidative stress, symptoms, and microbiome in parkinson's disease | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 / research articles effects of dietary supplementation with fermented papaya on oxidative stress, symptoms, and microbiome in parkinson's disease authors andrea bolner loris bertoldi giuseppe benvenuto eleonora sattin ottavio bosello giampietro nordera doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i4.1092 abstract background: oxidative stress, understood as the alteration of the physiological equilibrium between the production of oxygen and nitrogen free radicals and their metabolic neutralization (redox imbalance), is a typical condition of several pathologies, including neurodegenerative ones. in parkinson's disease (pd), oxidative phenomena typically interest the dopaminergic neurons of mesencephalic substantia nigra. although it is unlikely that the redox imbalance represents the primary event of neurodegeneration, it is certain that it participates in cellular damage progression. objectives: interventions to prevent or reduce the extent of the oxidative stress in pd and the consequent oxidative damage are of crucial importance. with this study, we have evaluated the effects of prolonged treatment with fermented papaya preparation (fpp) on redox imbalance, clinical parameters, and intestinal microbiome of pd patients.  methods: for six months, one group of pd subjects were treated with fpp (n=19, verum) and another with placebo (n=20, control); then, in the following six months, the treatments were exchanged. several blood biochemical and hematological parameters were measured at the start and at the end of treatments. among them are some components of antioxidant barriers, free radicals (total peroxides) and biomarkers of oxidative damage on dna and proteins. to check the effects of fpp treatment on intestinal bacterial flora, we also evaluated the modification of microbiome with regards to the relative amounts of different phyla, families, genera, and species. furthermore, accurate evaluations were performed on motor symptoms and cognitive functions of patients with validated survey scales to check the effects of fpp treatment on clinical parameters and quality life.  results: unlike the control group, the level of free radicals in the patients treated with fpp was not increased; the antioxidant barrier was strengthened and oxidative damages on proteins and especially on dna were decreased. even clinical features and quality life parameters of these patients have improved. instead, the results of microbiome were inconclusive as changes resulted seemingly independent ofelia the treatments. conclusions: the study demonstrates that fpp may be a valuable aid in counteracting oxidative stress and improve the motor symptoms and cognitive functions in pd. this effect does not seem to depend on increased growth of a particular bacterial phylum because the microbioma composition does not change significantly following the treatment; it cannot be excluded, however, that fpp works otherwise by modifying not the quantity but rather the metabolism of some specific bacterial group or that it has effects on the integrity of the intestinal mucosa.   keywords: papaya, oxidative stress, parkinson’s disease, microbiome downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-04-14 issue vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of phenolic compounds contained in flour from green buckwheat, flaxseed, grape and dogwood seeds on the fermentation activity of yeast s. cerevisiae | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 / research articles the effect of phenolic compounds contained in flour from green buckwheat, flaxseed, grape and dogwood seeds on the fermentation activity of yeast s. cerevisiae authors svetlana a. grinvald nadezhda barakova elena kiprushkina birlant jamaldinova irina ushaeva grigory tochilnikov vladimir sadovoy polina gunkova doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i3.1191 abstract background: bakery products are one of the most widely consumed in the world, but they have very low nutritional value and a short shelf life. unconventional flour can be used to address these issues. they contain vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols that can significantly increase the nutritional value of the final product. it is known that phenolic compounds have a beneficial effect on the human body, preventing various diseases, inactivating free radicals, and also suppressing the growth of pathogenic microorganisms that develop in bakery products. despite these advantages, unconventional types of flour have a specific biochemical composition that can negatively affect the course of the technological process. one of the most important stages in the production of bakery products is fermentation. earlier studies have shown that phenolic compounds can be adsorbed by yeast, but high concentrations significantly reduce the viability of yeast cells. objective: to study the influence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds contained in flour from green buckwheat, flax, grape, and dogwood seeds on the fermentative activity of s. cerevisiae yeast. to achieve this goal, it was necessary to determine the total amount of phenolic and flavonoid substances contained in flour from grape and dogwood seeds, green buckwheat, and flax flour, and to study the effect of flour and individual phenolic compounds on the fermentative activity of yeast. the most common polyphenolic compounds in all three types of flour were selected for the study – rutin, gallic acid, and tannin. methods: the fermentation activity of yeast was assessed by measuring carbon dioxide release during fermentation, with samples prepared using varying concentrations of flour from grape seeds, green buckwheat, and dogwood seeds. ethanol extraction from raw materials was conducted using 60% ethyl alcohol, followed by spectrophotometric determination of phenolic composition and flavonoid content. rutin, tannin, and gallic acid were defined using specific titration and spectrophotometric methods. results: it was found that flour from grape seeds contains the highest amount of phenolic and flavonoid compounds compared to other types of flour, namely: 1352 milligrams of gallic acid/100 grams and 227 milligrams of rutin/100 grams respectively. the lowest amount was found in flour from green buckwheat – 350 milligrams of gallic acid/100 grams and 109 milligrams of rutin/100 grams respectively. the addition of the tested types of flour positively affects the fermentative activity of bread yeast, increasing the release of carbon dioxide by 1.5-2 times compared to the control sample. the highest amount of co2 was released when using flour from grape seeds. studies of the phenolic and flavonoid composition showed that grape seeds contain the highest amount of gallic acid and tannin compared to other types of flour. individual phenolic compounds have a positive effect on the process of carbon dioxide release. the highest amount of co2 was released when adding 120 mg of rutin per 1 gram of yeast, which is 2 times higher than the values relative to the control sample. it was noted that the introduction of this amount of rutin shortened the lag phase and increased the logarithmic phase. the fermentation process was most intense in the first 1.5-2 hours. conclusion: a promising direction is the use of flour from green buckwheat, grape, flax seeds, and dogwood seeds for baking. since the introduction of phenolic substances does not have a negative effect on the fermentative activity of yeast, these types of flour can be a source of phenolic compounds that can significantly extend the shelf life of products. in addition, additional consumption of phenolic compounds in the human diet has a positive effect on health. keywords: dogwood seed flour, grape seed flour, green buckwheat flour, flaxseed flour, yeast fermentation activity, phenolic compounds downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-03-29 issue vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com transforming olive pits into functional foods: evaluation of phenolic, antioxidant, nutritional and microbiological properties | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 / research articles transforming olive pits into functional foods: evaluation of phenolic, antioxidant, nutritional and microbiological properties authors avgoustina galitsopoulou dr. avgoustina galitsopoulou, head of research and development department http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2912-9003 chrisa salepi foteini karagianni doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i10.1011 abstract background: the research aims to propose a new potential role for the olive pits as new functional foods for supporting human nutrition, health and wellbeing. the experimental research has been focused on developing a new method to suitably process the by-products of table olives (olive pits) and investigating the health-related and nutritional components of the final products. methods: a new methodology of processing the olive pit by-product to successfully resume the edible part of the pit interior, has been developed (as showed below): in the final form of the processed olive pit, a detailed identification and determination of specific phenolic compounds with pharmacological interest was developed with a high-performance liquid chromatographyphotodiode array detector (hplc-dad). antioxidant activity was also evaluated with dpph free radical scavenging assay. other health-related nutritional parameters were also investigated, with an emphasis on fatty acid profile analysis, dietary fiber and protein concentration. microbiological quality of the final products were also investigated.  results: results showed that in the processed form of the olive pits, total bioactive phenolic content was found in significant levels, reaching an 8-25-fold higher concentration than the usual phenolic content of extra virgin olive oil. the quantitative determination showed that the principal biophenol determined was hydroxytyrosol, followed by tyrosol. dpph analysis presented a high antioxidant activity, whilst the product presented considerable contents of monosaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid, plant proteins and dietary fibers. microbiological quality of the product was efficient in all samples tested.  conclusions: after suitable processing, the by-products of the olive pits can be considered as a valuable source of bioactive phenolic compounds with strong antioxidant activity,  as well as a good source of monosaturated fatty acids, oleic acid, plant proteins and dietary fibers. overall, the olive pits could be reconsidered as a functional food or matrix with a promising potential for pharmaceutical, nutritional and cosmetic applications. keywords: olives; pits; phenols; antioxidants; monosaturated fatty acids; oleic acid; functional foods; by-products author biography avgoustina galitsopoulou, dr. avgoustina galitsopoulou, head of research and development department dr. agostina galitsopoulou is a food scientist with a master’s degree in food science and nutrition and a phd in food chemistry. she is currently working as the head of research and development department of the company eleones halkidikis s.a. she is involved in the research area of by-product utilization for the production of innovative, nutritional and healthful foods. her research work has been awarded in the european ecotrophelia platform for the promotion of eco-innovation in the food industry. her current research activities involve the potential utilization of by-products from the table olive industry sector and transforming them into functional foods. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-11-07 issue vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com acrylamide content and quality characteristics of french fries influenced by different frying methods | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 / research articles acrylamide content and quality characteristics of french fries influenced by different frying methods authors zahraa adil ahmed college of agriculture, tikrit university 3400, tikrit, iraq. e-mail: [email protected] tel.: +964-7725322522 nameer khairullah mohammed college of agriculture, tikrit university 3400, tikrit, iraq. e-mail: [email protected] tel.: +964-7725322522 anis shobirin meor hussin faculty of food science and technology, universiti putra malaysia 43400 upm serdang, selangor, malaysia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i6.1126 abstract background: this study aimed to compare the effects of three different frying methods, namely air frying (af), microwave frying (mf), and deep frying (df) in corn oil, on the moisture and texture, as well as the content and absorption of oil, carbohydrates and acrylamide  in french fries.  materials and methods: for the df, the fresh potatoes were fully dipped in corn oil and the oil temperature was set at 160 °c for three intervals of 3, 5, and 7 minutes.  in the mf, the oil was preheated to 180 °c for three time intervals of 160, 180, and 200 seconds. the af was set at a temperature of 170 °c for three time intervals of 8, 10, and 12 minutes, without adding oil. results: the results showed that af resulted in a lower acrylamide content (21.8 ppm) after 8 minutes at 170°c compared to the other frying methods. however, df in corn oil was preferred in terms of color, flavor, and overall acceptance in the sensory evaluation of the french fries. mf resulted in the hardest french fry texture due to excessive evaporation of moisture. conclusion: the findings suggest that af may be a healthier option with a lower acrylamide content, while df in corn oil may be preferred for its superior sensory characteristics. keywords: acrylamide, air frying, deep frying, microwave, oil absorption, sensory evaluation.  author biography nameer khairullah mohammed, college of agriculture, tikrit university 3400, tikrit, iraq. e-mail: [email protected] tel.: +964-7725322522 department of food science downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-06-28 issue vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com phenolic compounds and antimicrobial activity of extracts ofapricot leaves derived from the trees treated with pesticides | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 / research articles phenolic compounds and antimicrobial activity of extracts ofapricot leaves derived from the trees treated with pesticides authors anna m. grigoryan varsik s. mirzoyan ruzanna m. hanisyan naira zh. sahakyan tamara d. karapetyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i12.1510 abstract background: the apricot tree (armeniaca vulgaris l.; family rosaceae) is one of the most important fruit trees in armenia. while apricots are widely studied for their alimentary uses (e.g., fresh and dried fruits, and oil production), the leaves are valued in traditional medicine due to their high concentration of bioactive compounds. these compounds make apricot leaves valuable for both medicinal and chemical applications. the healing properties of apricot leaves are primarily attributed to their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, which are linked to chemical constituents such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds. however, the increasing use of agrochemicals may influence the content of these bioactive compounds and negatively affect their properties. despite this concern, studies addressing these issues remain scarce in literature. objectives: to evaluate the impact of pesticides (topaz and confidor) on flavonoid and total phenolic content in apricot leaves through field surveys and biochemical analyses and to identify correlations between the phenolic content in the extracts and the antimicrobial activities of the examined samples. methods: the experiments were conducted in the kotayk region of the republic of armenia (ra). the research material was the apricot leaves collected from the trees treated twice with the fungicide topaz and the insecticide confidor, after allowing for complete detoxification in the leaves. trees sprayed with water served as a control group. antimicrobial activity of the extracts was evaluated using the agar well diffusion assay (method of wells). polyphenolic compounds were quantified using methods described by yermakov. results: according to the results obtained, the inhibitory activity of the apricot leaf extracts against the tested microorganisms (gram positive (staphylococcus citreus, staphylococcus aureus, bac. megatherium, b. subtilis), gram negative bacteria (escherichia coli and salmonella thyphymurium) and fungus (candida guillermondii) is correlated with the concentration of total phenolic compounds, tannins and flavonoids in the leaves by polynomial 3 order equations. conclusions: our data indicates a certain impact of pesticides on the content of the total pc, tannins and flavonoids in apricot leaves, which explains the different antimicrobial activity on the same microorganisms of the tested extracts coming from. keywords: apricot leaves, phenolic compounds, antibacterial and antifungal activities, pesticides downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-12-14 issue vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com alleviating the physical discomfort in healthy individuals with moringa seed extract: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 / clinical trial alleviating the physical discomfort in healthy individuals with moringa seed extract: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial authors aya abe mahendra p. kapoor so morishima derek timm atsushi nakajima makoto ozeki norio sato doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i10.1142 abstract background: moringa oleifera is well recognized for its rich nutritional content and diverse bioactive compounds. moringa, abundant in various bioactive compounds such as flavonoids and alkaloids present across all plant parts including leaves, stems, and roots, is especially rich in glucomoringin within its seeds. the antioxidant activity of moringin has already been verified in numerous cellular and animal experiments. objective: the study investigates the effects of moringa seed extract (mse), abundant in glucomoringin, on fatigue-related physical discomfort and sleep quality, as indicators of quality of life (qol) in healthy individuals. methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted, administering mse containing 12 mg of glucomoringin or placebo to healthy adult males and females daily for four consecutive weeks. quality of life (qol) questionnaire on fatigue, physical discomfort, sleep, and motivation was evaluated using a visual analog scale (vas) at the start of the study and the end of each subsequent week until week 4. the impact on qol was assessed through subjective evaluations and oxidative stress markers. results: as a result, the efficacy of mse intake in reducing stiff shoulder/neck pain, joint pain, and muscle pain was confirmed. based on the oxidative stress markers, significant effects were observed among the participants with relatively high oxidative stress. a greater improvement in physical discomfort, reduced fatigue, and enhanced sleep quality were also noticed among female participants with mse consumption.  conclusion: mse consumption has showed potential in lowering physical discomfort brought on by exhaustion, promoting overall qol, and improving sleep quality. (umin000049070) keywords:moringa; moringin; glucomoringin; physical discomfort; sleep quality; fatigue; pain downloads [abstract] [full article] [supplementary] published 2023-10-04 issue vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 section clinical trial license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com safety and efficacy of dietary freshwater clam (corbicula fluminea) extract in clinical research | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 / research articles safety and efficacy of dietary freshwater clam (corbicula fluminea) extract in clinical research authors takao shimazoe daisuke kobayashi takehiro kawashiri takeshi chijimatsu miki umeki satoshi mochizuki doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i6.928 abstract background: the freshwater clam (corbicula spp.) is a popular edible bivalve mollusk that is commonly eaten in east asia. freshwater clam extract (fce) is known to have various effects. for example, it has anti-inflammatory effects and improves cholesterol metabolism. often used as a folk remedy, fce might be effective against liver disease and at ameliorating liver damage. these results indicate that fce has preventative or ameliorating effects against steatosis and mild chronic liver damage. additionally, fce has a documented neuroprotective effect, potentially improving sleep quality. however, no clinical research into these topic areas have been carried out.  objective: no clinical research has been carried out concerning the action of fce on liver function. in this study, we conducted a clinical trial involving healthy volunteers with relatively high liver test values to determine the influence of fce on hepatic function. moreover, no previous studies have described the effects of fce on sleep. thus, we also assessed sleep quality after fce intake using the oguri-shirakawa-azumi (osa) sleep inventory middle-aged and aged (ma) version and a likert scale in a randomized controlled clinical trial.  methods: we performed a prospective randomized controlled trial to assess safety and the effects of freshwater clam extract. thirty four volunteers were analyzed. the subjects ingested 2 placebo softgels, 2 fce-containing softgels, or 10 fce-containing softgels. we tried to clarify 2 issues, safety in the liver and quality of sleep. an assessment of the safety of long-term and excessive fce intake, especially its actions on hepatic function, was performed by administering 10 fce-containing softgels (5 times the normal dose) to the subjects in the high fce dose group for 18 weeks. a sleep evaluation comparing the placebo and normal fce dose groups was also conducted. we conducted a double-blind parallel clinical trial to evaluate the effects of fce on sleep quality over 12 weeks. the subjects were assigned to 3 groups (the placebo group, the normal fce dose group, and the high fce dose group).  results: significant reductions in the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (ast), alanine aminotransferase (alt), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-gtp) were observed at 12 and 18 weeks after the consumption of a high dose of fce capsules. the subjects’ ferritin levels were significantly reduced after 18 weeks’ high-dose fce intake. moreover, the consumption of two fce softgels (normal dose) for 12 weeks resulted in significant better quality in terms of both sleep onset and maintenance compared with that seen after the placebo treatment. fce intake also resulted in a longer sleep duration than the placebo treatment. the same dose of fce tended to reduce subjective fatigue. these results suggest that fce is a safe supplemental food and increases sleep quality. conclusions: these results suggest that fce is a safe supplemental food and increases sleep quality. keywords:  freshwater clam, hepatotoxicity, randomized study, sleep downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-06-23 issue vol. 12 no. 6 (2022): june 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in vitro assessment of thrombolytic potential of red and white ginger (zingiber officinale) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 / research articles in vitro assessment of thrombolytic potential of red and white ginger (zingiber officinale) authors reinhard pinontoan universitas pelita harapan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9245-7360 patricia ansyra injilia leke universitas pelita harapan jevon aaron lesmana universitas pelita harapan jonathan suciono purnomo universitas pelita harapan dikson dikson universitas pelita harapan ariela samantha universitas pelita harapan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1245 abstract background: cardiovascular diseases (cvds) are a leading cause of death, and their pathogenesis is commonly attributed to thrombosis. although existing medications are effective and fast-acting for thrombosis management, they tend to be expensive and cause severe side effects. plant-based thrombolytic agents are actively sought after as inexpensive and safe alternatives for the treatment and prevention of thrombosis. red ginger (zingiber officinale var. rubrum) and white ginger (zingiber officinale var. officinale) are widely used in foods and beverages and are believed to confer a wide variety of health benefits. objective: this study aims to elucidate the thrombolytic and fibrinolytic potential of red and white ginger extracts in vitro. methods: in this study, in vitro analyses were performed using erythrocyte liberation, euglobulin degradation, fibrin degradation, and fibrin zymography assays. the ability of crude enzyme extracts from both red (rgex) and white ginger (wgex) to degrade blood clots was analyzed using the erythrocytes liberation assay. then, the thrombolytic and fibrinolytic activities of rgex and wgex were evaluated using euglobulin and fibrin degradation assays, both of which were visualized using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (sds-page). finally, fibrinolytic enzymes were identified using a fibrin zymography assay. results: red and white ginger extracts were found to have strong thrombolytic properties via high total liberated erythrocyte count from the erythrocyte liberation assay. the ginger extract proteases can rapidly degrade euglobulin and fibrin, with their priority order beginning with aα and bβ, then γ chains. fibrin zymography confirmed the presence of several proteases in the red and white ginger extracts. conclusion: overall, while red and white ginger crude enzyme extracts have been reported to possess a strong thrombolytic and fibrinolytic potential and are therefore suggested to be good candidates for managing and preventing cvd, further studies such as full enzyme identification and in vivo studies are needed. keywords: fibrinolytic, ginger extract, in vitro assessment, protease, thrombolytic downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-01-12 issue vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a combination of multi-strain probiotics, prebiotic, and plant extracts improves ethanol-induced hangover outcomes in a zebrafish model | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 / research articles a combination of multi-strain probiotics, prebiotic, and plant extracts improves ethanol-induced hangover outcomes in a zebrafish model authors yangwenshan ou weiguo zhang jiaxun lan xiaodan huang nan li doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i10.1462 abstract background: alcohol use, even in moderation, causes hangover discomforts. it has been reported that alcohol-associated symptoms can be improved by either probiotics or medicinal plant extracts to some extent. however, the effects of a combination of multi-strain probiotics, prebiotic, and plant extracts have not been fully explored. objective: our main goal is to assess behavioral responses and alcohol metabolism in zebrafish treated with a combination of multi-strain probiotics, prebiotic, and plant extracts after ethanol administration. methods: in this study, the zebrafish were first treated with the probiotic-prebiotic-plant extract mixture, and then was exposed to different levels of ethanol. the moving distance and activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (adh) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (aldh) of zebrafish were measured after ethanol treatment.  results: this probiotic-prebiotic-plant extract mixture significantly improved total distance moved and activities of adh and aldh in zebrafish treated with either 1.5% or 4.0% ethanol. in particular, the mixture outperformed plant extracts (both at 250μg/ml) in total distance moved under 1.5% ethanol administration and degrading acetaldehyde under 4.0% ethanol treatment. conclusion: a combination of probiotics, prebiotic, and plant extracts effectively mitigated hangover symptoms in cases of moderate and heavy alcohol use and demonstrated superior performance in acetaldehyde metabolism compared to plant extracts alone after heavy drinking, based on a zebrafish model.  keywords: probiotic, prebiotic, hovenia dulcis, kudzu root, curcumin, ethanol, hangover, behavior, metabolism, zebrafish. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-10-18 issue vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effects of dyglomera (dichrostachys glomerata extract) on body fat percentage and body weight: a randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled clinical trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 / research articles the effects of dyglomera (dichrostachys glomerata extract) on body fat percentage and body weight: a randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled clinical trial authors janvier youovop guy takuissu ministry of scientific research, cameroon christelle mbopda felix nwang raissa ntentié mary-ann mbong boris azantsa harinder singh julius oben doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i6.1088 abstract introduction: previous studies have shown the beneficial effects of dyglomera®, a hydroethanolic extract of dichrostachys glomerata, on inflammation as well as parameters linked to metabolic syndrome. its effect on body fat was however not verified. the present study was therefore carried out to evaluate the anti-obesity effect of the dyglomera®, on overweight and obese subjects. methods: this 12-week randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial had percentage body fat measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, body weight and body mass index set as efficacy endpoints.  on the other hand, key biochemical parameters were measured as secondary endpoints.  the values of these parameters at t12 compared to t0 for the placebo and dyglomera® groups were used as a measure of the efficacy.  results: subjects treated with dyglomera® for 12 weeks showed significant differences, with 6.73 kg (p<0.05) decrease in the body weight and 22.85% (p<0.05) reduction in the percentage body fat. in addition, the markers of lipid profile, adipocytokines, glycemia and transaminases plasmatic activities were also improved by the intake of dyglomera®. conclusions: this study shows that dyglomera® effectively decreases the body weight in obese subjects after 12 weeks of treatment, which was accompanied by a reduction in the body fat and related disorders. dyglomera®is a good agent for overweight and obesity management. keywords: dichrostachys glomerata, dyglomera®, body fat percentage, body weight, clinical trials. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-06-30 issue vol. 13 no. 6 (2023): june 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com food and medicinal plants from nigeria with anti-helicobacter pylori activities induce apoptosis in colon and gastric cancer cell lines | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 7 (2023): july 2023 / research articles food and medicinal plants from nigeria with anti-helicobacter pylori activities induce apoptosis in colon and gastric cancer cell lines authors temitope o. lawal shitalben r. patel gail b. mahady doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i7.1105 abstract background: food and medicinal plants are used traditionally in nigeria to treat gastrointestinal (gi) disorders such as gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and gi-related cancers. we have previously reported that specific extracts of nigerian food and medicinal plants inhibited the growth of helicobacter pylori, a bacterium known to cause peptic ulcer disease, as well as gastric and colon cancer.  objective: to determine the effects of three food plants, namely anogeissus leiocarpus (dc.) guill. & perr.  (african birch, combretaceae), terminalia glaucescens planch ex benth. (nigerian chewing sticks, combretaceae) and dillenia indica l. (elephant apple, dilleniaceae) used in nigeria for the treatment of gi disorders and cancer in six colon and gastric cancer cell lines, and two non-cancerous cell lines.  methods: cancer cells were grown in appropriate media and celltiter-glo® 2.0 and apotox-glo™ triplex assays were used to measure cell growth and apoptosis in sw480, sw620, hct116, caco2 cell lines, as well as  ags and nci-n87 gastric cancer cells. caspase-glo® 3/7, and caspase-glo® 8 were used to determine caspase activities and apoptosis. gene expression was measured using quantitative pcr. results: the methanol extract of a. leiocarpus roots inhibited the growth of hct-116, sw480 and sw620 colon cancer cells (ic50 of 15.8, 10.0, and 20.8 µg/ml, respectively), but weakly active in the ags and nci-n87 cells (ic50 77.0 and >100 µg/ml respectively). the t. glaucescens extract was weakly active in hct-116 cells (ic50 64.9 µg/ml) and ags cells (52.2 µg/ml). the d. indica extract was active in sw480 (ic50 15.8 µg/ml), and weakly active in caco2 (ic50 35.2 µg/ml) and hct-116 (ic50 53.2 µg/ml). in hct-116 cells, a. leiocarpus root extract and its aqueous partition increased caspase 8 activity, as well as mrna expression of p53, while expression of bcl-2 and hdac1 mrna was reduced. bioassay guided fractionation of the aqueous partition led to the isolation and identification of the known compound methyl gallate. conclusions: these data suggest that the nigerian food plants with anti-helicobacter pylori activities increase the expression of the tumor suppressor p53 and inhibit hdac1, thereby inducing apoptosis in hct-116 colon cancer cells. running title: inhibitory effects of nigerian food plants on git cancers keywords: african birch, ags, apoptosis, anogeissus leiocarpus, dillenia indica, elephant apple, terminalia glaucescens, nigerian chewing sticks, hct-116, sw480, sw620 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-07-31 issue vol. 13 no. 7 (2023): july 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com suppressive effect of a single dose of monoglucosyl rutin on postprandial blood glucose elevation: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 6 (2021): june 2021 / research articles suppressive effect of a single dose of monoglucosyl rutin on postprandial blood glucose elevation: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study authors yushi hashizume mahamadou tandia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i6.793 abstract objective: this study aimed to investigate the suppressive effect of a single dose of water-soluble αglycosylated rutin (monoglucosyl rutin; mr) on postprandial blood glucose elevation in healthy subjects with relatively high fasting blood glucose levels. methods: this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study enrolled 34 healthy japanese adult subjects with relatively high fasting blood glucose levels. the study period ran from november 13, 2019, to march 19, 2020. all subjects were randomly allocated to either sequence a or sequence b (n = 17 per group) using a computerized random number generator. the washout period was at least one week between periods i and ii. in period i, the subjects took either mr or placebo tablets. in period ii, subjects took different tablets from the ones they had taken in period i. we evaluated their blood glucose and insulin levels after glucose loading (150 g of cooked rice). the incremental area under the curve (iauc) of the postprandial blood glucose level was determined as the primary outcome. the blood glucose and insulin levels at maximum (maximum blood concentration; cmax), each measurement point, and iauc of the blood insulin level after glucose loading were the secondary outcomes. results: out of 33 subjects, 16 in sequence a (11 men and 5 women, 54.5 ± 9.8 years) and 17 in sequence b (9 men and 8 women, 58.8 ± 9.4 years) were analyzed as a per-protocol dataset. the glucose iauc after mr consumption was significantly lower than that of the placebo (p = 0.034). results of the other outcomes were not observed with significant treatment effects. there were no adverse events attributable to the test foods. conclusions: we suggest that mr has a suppressive effect on the elevation of postprandial blood glucose in healthy adults with relatively high fasting blood glucose levels. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000038515.  foundation: toyo sugar refining co., ltd. keywords: monoglucosyl rutin, blood glucose level, incremental area under the curve, α-amylase, α-glucosidase, crossover study downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-06-17 issue vol. 11 no. 6 (2021): june 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com development, quality and safety evaluation of a probiotic whey beverage | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 7 (2023): july 2023 / research articles development, quality and safety evaluation of a probiotic whey beverage authors gulyaim abitayeva republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6999-8807 gulmira bissenova republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan botagoz mussabayeva republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan yerassyl naimanov jsc "astana-onim", astana, kazakhstan тamara тultabayeva ncjsc s. seifullin kazakh agro technical research university astana, kazakhstan zinigul sarmurzina republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i7.1121 abstract background: this study was aimed at the development of a whey beverage enriched with a probiotic starter culture, prebiotics, vitamins, and minerals, and evaluation of microbiological, physico-chemical, and toxicological characteristics of the developed beverage. methods: the beverage formulation was determined based on organoleptic analysis. the assessment of microbiological and physico-chemical parameters was carried out in accordance with regulatory standards. the safety assessment of the developed drink was carried out in vivo. results:a beverage formulation based on whey enriched with probiotic bacteria lactobacillus casei 1a, lactobacillus paracasei 2a, lactobacillus brevis 4 lb, prebiotic inulin, vitamins (a, c) and minerals (potassium iodide) was developed. the organoleptic, physico-chemical, and microbiological properties of the developed drink were determined. the quality of the beverage complied with food safety regulations, the viability of probiotic bacteria and the acidity of the beverage remained stable during storage. acute score toxicity and allergenic properties in vivo did not reveal any physiological abnormalities and made it possible to classify the developed product as a low-hazard substance. conclusion:the optimal composition of a probiotic whey beverage has been developed, which can be considered as a potential product for functional nutrition. keywords: whey beverage, formulation, probiotic, functional, safety assessment, toxicity, allergenic properties, in vivo author biographies gulyaim abitayeva, republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan phd, leading researcher  gulmira bissenova, republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan phd, researcher botagoz mussabayeva, republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan ms, researcher yerassyl naimanov, jsc "astana-onim", astana, kazakhstan ms, technologist тamara тultabayeva, ncjsc s. seifullin kazakh agro technical research university astana, kazakhstan d.sc., principal investigator zinigul sarmurzina, republican collection of microorganisms llp, astana, kazakhstan phd, project manager downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-07-27 issue vol. 13 no. 7 (2023): july 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the efficacy of an edible bird's nest in the restoration and enhancement of kidney glomeruli and peritubular capillaries in induced diabetic rats by increasing tgf-β and cd 31 | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 / research articles the efficacy of an edible bird's nest in the restoration and enhancement of kidney glomeruli and peritubular capillaries in induced diabetic rats by increasing tgf-β and cd 31 authors manaras komolkriengkrai udomlak matsathit rawipa jangchart nualpun sirinupong nisaudah radenahmad wipapan khimmaktong doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i5.1591 abstract background: diabetic nephropathy (dn) is primarily caused by hyperglycemia-induced angiogenesis and fibrosis. it has been reported that edible bird's nest (edb), a traditional chinese medicine, may prevent insulin resistance. however, its influence on diabetic nephropathy remains unclear. this research investigated the impact of edb on diabetic nephropathy of glomeruli and peritubular capillaries in induced diabetic rat models. methods: wistar rats were injected with streptozotocin (stz) to induce diabetes mellitus (dm).  diabetic rodents were treated with edb at doses of 75 mg/kg (edb75), 150 mg/kg (edb150), and glibenclamide (4 mg/kg bw) over an eight-week duration.  results: the edb 150 intervention group exhibited a decrease in fasting blood glucose levels. a histological study concluded that edb reduced dn by reducing collagen fibers in the glomerulus while thickening the renal tubular wall. according to immunohistochemistry, edb alleviates aberrant angiogenesis and fibrosis by decreasing the expression of platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule (cd31) in endothelial cells. edb also transforms growth factor beta (tgf-β) in glomerular and peritubular capillaries. tem micrographs thicken the peritubular capillary and proximal tubule wall. furthermore, the renal capillaries increased in diameter and wall thickness.  conclusions: the current study demonstrated the potential of edb to reduce diabetic complications. it also indicated that edible bird's nests are a potential medicinal herb for treating diabetes and kidney complications. novelty of the study: this study uniquely investigates the effect of edible bird's nest (edb) on diabetic nephropathy in rat models, demonstrating its potential to reduce hyperglycemia, mitigate glomerular collagen accumulation, improve renal tubular wall thickening, and modulate aberrant angiogenesis or fibrosis by decreasing cd31 and tgfβ expression in renal tissues. these findings support the use of edb among individuals with diabetic kidney damage. keywords: diabetes, kidney, edible bird’s nest, cd31, tgf-β, rat, kidney glomeruli, peritubular capillaries downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-05-08 issue vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a comparative study of the effect of extracts extracted from ocimum basilicum leaves using organic extract and essential oil | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 / research articles a comparative study of the effect of extracts extracted from ocimum basilicum leaves using organic extract and essential oil authors linh jaafar sultan wafaa ghazi fadhil mohammed majid hamid sara thamer hadi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i6.1304 abstract background: medicinal plants that possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties have garnered significant attention for their role in maintaining food quality, improving safety, and impeding spoilage. they also can aid in controlling food contamination risks and augmenting the nutritional value of foods. objective: the study aimed to obtain botanical extracts possessing antimicrobial capabilities and use them to inhibit the growth of molds and yeasts. additionally, these extracts are aimed at prolonging product shelf life by harnessing their antioxidant attributes. methods: several microorganisms, including e. coli and pseudomonas, were subjected to testing. ethanolic alcohol, chloroform, and essential oil extracts were prepared; the tablets were then immersed in these solutions to test their efficacy. results: the leaf extracts displayed significant antimicrobial efficacy against essential oil extracts with staphylococcus aureus and serratia marcescens, while the organic extracts, which included ethyl alcohol and chloroform, did not show any inhibitory effects against bacteria. conclusion: the basil leaf extract demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against microorganisms, particularly in the case of essential oil extracts compared with other methods of extraction. however, gram-positive bacteria showed a better response for the essential oils method than that of gram-negative bacteria.  keywords: ocimum basilicum; basil leaf; clevenger; chemical active compounds; essential oil; organic extracts downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-06-03 issue vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2014 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antioxidant potential of gamma ray irradiated winged bean (psophocarpus tetragonolobus) seed protein hydrolysate | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 / research articles antioxidant potential of gamma ray irradiated winged bean (psophocarpus tetragonolobus) seed protein hydrolysate authors anirut hlosrichok ratchaneewan aunpad graduate program in biomedical sciences, faculty of allied health sciences, thammasat university, pathum thani, thailand doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i4.1090 abstract background: winged bean or psophocarpus tetragonolobus (wb) seeds have high protein content and could be applied as a source of antioxidant proteins and peptides. the utilization of gamma rays in plant protein extraction provides consumers with a safe and harmless technology. objective: to determine the efficiency of gamma rays in the protein extraction process of wb seeds and investigate the antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity, cytoprotective effect of the gamma ray irradiated wb (wb-g) seed protein hydrolysate. methods:wb seeds were irradiated with gamma ray (wb-g) and total protein were extracted by acid-base extraction method. the total protein was further hydrolyzed with alcalase enzyme to obtain the protein hydrolysate. the antioxidant activity was evaluated by dpph and abts assay. the cytotoxicity and cytoprotective effect were determined by mtt assay. the cellular reactive oxygen species was further analyzed by h2-dcfda assay. results: the protein extracted from wb-g seeds showed higher protein yield and antioxidant activity than that of non-irradiated seeds. after hydrolysis with alcalase enzyme at 55°c for 6 hours, wb-g protein hydrolysate with degree of hydrolysis of 90.00±0.91% exhibited strong antioxidant activity with ic50 value of 10.30±0.02 µg/ml and 3.10±0.06 µg/ml as measured by dpph and abts assay, respectively. moreover, it showed no toxicity toward l929 mouse fibroblast cells and ipec-j2 cell lines and can reduce the damage caused by h2o2. as determined in cellular reactive oxygen species by h2-dcfda assay, the wb-g protein hydrolysate can reduce the level of ros and subsequently the damage of cell by h2o2.  conclusions: this study demonstrated that gamma ray irradiation on the wb seeds can increase the protein yield and its protein hydrolysate exhibited promising antioxidant activity and cytoprotective effect on cells against h2o2 damage. it might be developed as an alternative food or feed supplement. keywords:psophocarpus tetragonolobus; gamma rays; protein hydrolysate; antioxidant activity; cytoprotective effect downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-04-18 issue vol. 13 no. 4 (2023): april 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com mechanism prediction of gastro-protective effects of the biebersteinia multifida against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers; an insilco study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 / research articles mechanism prediction of gastro-protective effects of the biebersteinia multifida against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers; an insilco study authors saeed rezaei zarchi assistant professor, department of biology, payame noor university, yazd, iran mahdi dousti ph.d. of pathology, department of pathobiology, school of veterinary medicine, shiraz university, shiraz, iran davood rezazadeh assistant professor of molecular medicine. molecular medicine department, school of medicine, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran elham sajadi ph.d. of physiology, department of basic science, school of veterinary medicine, shiraz university, shiraz, iran. sara rizvand msc of biophysics, department of biology, payame noor university, yazd, iran narges eskandari roozbahani ph.d. pharmacology, clinical research development center, imam reza hospital, kermanshah university of medical sciences, kermanshah, iran doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i9.964 abstract introduction: peptic ulcer disease (pud) is one of the most common diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. herbal remedies are alternative therapies that have different gastro protective mechanisms, the gastro protective effect of biebersteinia multifida (bm) was evaluated previously. objective: this study was performed to predict the possible mechanism of action of bm bioactive compounds on ameliorating ethanolic pud in an insilico study by molecular docking. methods: bioactive compounds in bm were screened by molegro virtual docker 6.0 (mvd) for their effects on factors affecting the healing and progression of ethanolic pud. results: the principal bioactive compound in bm root that has an ameliorating effect in pud is the flavonoids luteolin rutinoside. this compound establishes the lowest binding energy with the enzymes xanthine oxidase, cyclooxygenase-2, and superoxide dismutase, respectively. conclusion: biebersteinia multifida probably affects the factors involved in ethanolic pud due to the presence of flavonoids luteolin rutinoside and thus plays a role in the healing of pud. keywords: molecular docking, biebersteinia multifida, peptic ulcer, molegro virtual docker downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-09-09 issue vol. 12 no. 9 (2022): september 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com estimating peppermint essential oil levels: water-stream and classical hydroponic systems | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 7 (2023): july 2023 / research articles estimating peppermint essential oil levels: water-stream and classical hydroponic systems authors mahsa daryadar juletta alexanyan stepan mayrapetyan khachatur mayrapetyan anahit tovmasyan anna tadevosyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i7.1123 abstract background: the leaves of peppermint and the essential oil received from them are used in medicine. the chemical content of essential oil is quite complex. it contains about 30 terpene compounds. the content of essential oil in flowers is 4-6%; in leaves – 2.4-2.8%, and in stems 0.3%. the main components that define the quality of essential oils are menthol, menthone, limonene, menthofuran, and isomenthone. peppermint is used in the form of tea, tincture, extract, and salves. it has a regulating influence on the heart and circulatory system. it calms the heartbeat and supports the decrease of blood pressure, and the oil stream is used for dyspnea in the form of inhalation. plant cream is used against insect bites, eczema, hemorrhoids, muscle pains, and some chronic diseases. context and purpose of this study: the work aimed to study the content of the main components from the quality indicators of the essential oil of peppermint grown in different water-stream and classical hydroponic systems for the first time in armenia. results: from the analyses, it was revealed that the strengthening of the essential oil of peppermint grown in different systems of the water-stream hydroponics (cylindrical, gully, continuous) and classical hydroponics was observed in august. at the same time, high-yield plants of cylindrical and classical hydroponic systems exceeded other variants by 1.3-1.5 times with the essential oil output. in hydroponic systems, the specificities of the physical-chemical indices of peppermint essential oil were also studied. in august, the refractive indicator of essential oil increased to some extent in all variants, except for continuous hydroponics. the lack of increase in continuous hydroponics can likely be explained by the change in the ratio of essential oil to different compounds. at the end of vegetation, in september, some increase of essential oils' specific gravity was observed in the gully (2.1-3.5%) and continuous (4.5-4.7%) modules, while in cylindrical and classical hydroponics the change was minor. during vegetation, the essential oil of plant leaves was subject to not only quantitative but also qualitative changes. the cylindrical system exceeded other water-stream hydroponics variants with the main essential oil menthol component by 1.1-1.4 times and classical hydroponics by 1.1 times. the gully system exceeded other water-stream systems with the content of d-limonene and menthyl acetate 3.6-9.7 and 1.3-3.0 times, respectively. and classical hydroponics 1.4 and 1.7 times, respectively. in the continuous system, the content of isomentone, pulegone, and mint furanone was 1.3-2.0, 3.3-3.5, and 5.7-6.2 times higher, respectively, compared with the other water-stream hydroponic systems, and 1.6, 2.6, and 1.7 times, compared with classical hydroponics. classical hydroponics exceeded all variants of water-stream hydroponics in the content of piperidone by 3.3-4.1 times. conclusion:although the strengthening of essential oil biosynthesis was observed in all hydroponic variants in august, the cylindrical hydroponic system excelled in the content of essential oils, the most important qualitative indicator of menthol. high output of essential oil in plant raw material was observed in classical hydroponics and cylindrical system of water-stream hydroponics, which provides optimal regimen for the normal growth and development of plants. keywords: cylindrical, medicinal plant, bioactive compounds, menthol downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-07-31 issue vol. 13 no. 7 (2023): july 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com chemical composition and effective compounds of dates and their use in a snack to give energy to athletes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 8 (2023): august 2023 / research articles chemical composition and effective compounds of dates and their use in a snack to give energy to athletes authors sara thamer hadi doaa muthanna shaban mohammed abd hemed morgab safa mohammed jasim doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i8.1147 abstract background: dates are recognized as a rich source of nutrients, so they are considered a complementary food element positioning them as functional food for athletes. energy balls are nutritious snack foods that people, individuals and athletes enjoy. they are a source of natural sugars, fibers and proteins that are nutritionally balanced. food supplements consist of protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates.  objective:enrichment some food products, especially energy-rich balls for athletes that made from dates as a main component for it.  materials and methods: date fruits from five cultivars (dekel nour, barhi, zahdi, khlas, sukari) were collected from the orchards of baghdad governorate. the fruits were cleaned and dried in an oven at a temperature of 45 ° c until dryn, then the fruits were ground by means of a grinder. the ground forms were kept in sealed glass containers at a laboratory temperature of 20-25 °c until use. results: variability in contents was observed across the different cultivars, with the highest percentage of total sugars, amounting to 86.70%, being recorded in barhi dates.  conversely, the lowest sugar percentage was found in date meat, measuring at 69.20%. the fruits recorded the highest moisture percentage with a value of 30.01%. the mineral composition showed that p was the predominant mineral, followed in descending order by mg, ca, and proteins. the protein content ranged from 2.14 to 3.20%, while crude fat ranged from (0.15 0.44) %. moisture content in date varieties with early ripening time was between low and high values of 10% to 30%. the comprehensive nutritional profile encompassed minerals and numerous vitamins, most notably b vitamins. carbohydrates constitute 70% of the date’s composition, including fructose and glucose. additionally, dates are rich in calcium, magnesium, selenium, copper, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, sulfur, cobalt, fluorine, and manganese. lately, interest in dates has increased because of their health importance, catalyzing the development of food products. keywords: dates, active substances, chemical compounds, functional foods, oat, nuts downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-08-23 issue vol. 13 no. 8 (2023): august 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com improving the sensory and chemical characteristics of functional yogurt fortified with cardamom extract ( elettaria cardamomum l.) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 / research articles improving the sensory and chemical characteristics of functional yogurt fortified with cardamom extract (elettaria cardamomum l.) authors firas najm ismael zainab hadi abbas alameri ali abdulraheem kadhim ahmed abdulameer hussein saleh abed al wahed mahdi jasim mohammed awda sara thamer hadi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i10.1454 abstract abstract: this study aimed to assess the effects of aqueous cardamom extract on chemical and sensory qualities of yogurt fortified with cardamom extract. four different concentrations of cardamom extract (100, 150, 200, and 250 μg.l-1) were incorporated into yogurt, along with a control group without adding cardamom. the moisture content, total protein, carbohydrates, ph, peroxide value, and sensory properties (taste, flavor, and smell) were evaluated. the results show that cardamom extract had no significant effect on the moisture, protein, or carbohydrate content of yoghurt when compared to the control. however, a drop in lipid, ph and peroxide value was seen in cardamom-fortified yoghurt, indicating enhanced lipid quality. treatments supplemented with 200 and 250 μg.l-1 of extract showed the highest sensory scores. overall, this study suggests that aqueous cardamom extract holds promise as a functional ingredient to improve yogurt quality and sensory qualities, potentially providing health benefits to consumers.  background: yogurt is typically processed from cream, milk, or partially or completely skimmed milk, and may include additional ingredients such as vitamins, skimmed milk powder, lactose, lactalbumin, lactoglobulin, or modified whey. cardamom encompasses two plant varieties, elettaria and amomum, belonging to the ginger family. these types are triangular in cross-section, bear seeds in bundles, and possess a thin outer membrane encasing black seeds. whole milk yogurt was fortified with four different concentrations of aqueous cardamom extract. a control group of plain whole milk yogurt without additives was also prepared. the chemical and sensory properties of yogurt types were analyzed immediately after manufacturing and storage for 1, 3 and 7 days at 5 ±1 °c.  objective: this study aimed to explore the effects of aqueous cardamom extract on chemical and sensory qualities, which are critical for functional foods, of functional yogurt made from raw, whole cow's milk. four concentrations (100, 150, 200, and 250 μg.l-1)  of cardamom extract were incorporated into yogurt, along with a control group without added cardamom. the moisture content, total protein, carbohydrates, ph, peroxide value, and sensory properties (taste, flavor, and smell) were evaluated.    materials and methods: raw, whole cow's milk was used to make yogurt production in the laboratory. five kilograms of raw, full-fat cow's milk was heated for 10 minutes at 90 °c, then cooled to 42 °c and divided into two parts. the first was divided into four fractions, each receiving a different concentration of cardamom extract: 100, 150, 200, and 250 μg/l, representing treatments t1, t2, t3, and t4, respectively. the second part remained untreated and served as the control treatment (c) for yogurt production.  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-10-08 issue vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com regular paper page 1 of 11 start intake (4 weeks) (8 weeks) (12 weeks) enrollment: ● informed consent ● allocation ● intervention: placebo test sample assessments: x-ray ct ● ● ● ● physical examination ● ● ● ● urinalysis ● ● ● ● hematological analysis ● ● ● ● subjective symptoms ● ● ● ● dietary survey 1 ● ● ● ● medical questionnaire ● ● ● ● daily record 2 closed circles (●): executed timing. 1 dietary survey was conducted for 3 days before each test day. 2 daily record included the record of fructose intake. appendix 1. schedule of enrollment, intervention, and assessments. 4 weeks after intake 8 weeks after intake 12 weeks after intake enrollment before intake (baseline) intervention period allocation page 2 of 11 appendix 2. the supplemental data of vfa. mean se emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ mean se emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ difference 95% ci− 95% ci+ vfa (cm 2 ) baseline 2 99.3 3.7 − − − 99.6 4.0 − − − 　 0.4 −10.4 11.2 4 weeks 3 98.3 3.8 98.5 95.4 101.5 95.9 3.8 95.8 92.7 98.8 　 −2.7 −7.0 1.7 8 weeks 3 98.1 3.7 98.2 95.2 101.3 94.0 3.9 93.8 90.7 96.9 　 −4.4 −8.8 −0.1 12 weeks 3 98.5 4.0 98.6 95.6 101.7 93.2 4.0 93.0 89.9 96.1 　 −5.6 −10.0 −1.3 δvfa (cm 2 ) 4 weeks 3 −1.0 1.6 −1.0 −4.1 2.1 −3.7 1.8 −3.7 −6.8 −0.6 　 −2.7 −7.0 1.7 8 weeks 3 −1.2 1.4 −1.2 −4.3 1.8 −5.7 1.6 −5.7 −8.8 −2.6 　 −4.4 −8.8 −0.1 12 weeks 3 −0.8 1.4 −0.8 −3.9 2.2 −6.5 1.8 −6.4 −9.5 −3.4 　 −5.6 −10.0 −1.3 1 emm of the difference was obtained by subtracting the value of the placebo group from that of the intervention group. 2 data are presented as the mean ± se. 3 data are presented as the mean ± se, emm, and the 95%ci (95%ci−, 95%ci+). parameter (unit) intervention period placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 94) difference between the two groups page 3 of 11 emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ vfa (cm 2 ) baseline 99.3 91.7 106.8 99.6 91.9 107.4 4 weeks 98.3 90.8 105.8 95.9 88.2 103.7 8 weeks 98.1 90.5 105.6 94.0 86.2 101.7 12 weeks 98.5 90.9 106.0 93.2 85.4 101.0 sfa (cm 2 ) baseline 223.9 209.5 238.2 225.8 211.4 240.2 4 weeks 224.1 209.7 238.5 225.1 210.7 239.5 8 weeks 224.3 210.0 238.7 228.1 213.7 242.5 12 weeks 225.3 210.9 239.7 228.7 214.3 243.1 tfa (cm 2 ) baseline 323.1 307.0 339.3 325.4 308.9 342.0 4 weeks 322.4 306.2 338.5 321.0 304.5 337.5 8 weeks 322.4 306.2 338.6 322.1 305.6 338.6 12 weeks 323.8 307.6 340.0 321.9 305.4 338.4 1 emm of the difference was obtained by subtracting the value of the baseline from the reading at the time. intervention group (n = 94) intervention period placebo group (n = 95) parameter (unit) appendix 3. the emm and the 95%ci of physical examination parameters for analysis of intragroup analysis. page 4 of 11 mean se emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ mean se emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ difference 95% ci− 95% ci+ p value sfa (cm 2 ) baseline 2 223.9 7.0 − − − 　 225.8 7.3 − − − 　 1.9 −18.0 21.9 0.848 4 weeks 3 224.1 7.2 225.0 220.9 229.2 　 225.1 7.3 224.2 220.0 228.3 　 −0.9 −6.7 5.0 0.774 8 weeks 3 224.3 7.4 225.3 221.1 229.4 　 228.1 7.1 227.2 223.0 231.3 　 1.9 −4.0 7.7 0.528 12 weeks 3 225.3 7.4 226.3 222.1 230.4 　 228.7 7.4 227.7 223.6 231.9 　 1.4 −4.4 7.3 0.628 δsfa (cm 2 ) 4 weeks 3 0.2 2.0 0.2 −3.9 4.3 　 −0.7 1.9 −0.7 −4.8 3.5 　 −0.9 −6.7 5.0 0.774 8 weeks 3 0.5 2.3 0.5 −3.7 4.6 　 2.3 1.8 2.3 −1.8 6.5 　 1.9 −4.0 7.7 0.528 12 weeks 3 1.5 2.3 1.4 −2.7 5.6 　 2.9 2.1 2.9 −1.3 7.0 　 1.4 −4.4 7.3 0.628 tfa (cm 2 ) baseline 2 323.1 7.8 − − − 　 325.4 8.3 − − − 　 2.3 −20.2 24.8 0.840 4 weeks 3 322.4 8.1 323.5 318.0 329.0 　 321.0 8.2 319.9 314.4 325.5 　 −3.5 −11.4 4.3 0.374 8 weeks 3 322.4 8.3 323.5 318.0 329.0 　 322.1 8.1 321.0 315.4 326.5 　 −2.6 −10.4 5.3 0.521 12 weeks 3 323.8 8.4 324.9 319.4 330.4 　 321.9 8.6 320.7 315.2 326.3 　 −4.2 −12.0 3.6 0.292 δtfa (cm 2 ) 4 weeks 3 −0.8 2.8 −0.8 −6.3 4.7 　 −4.4 2.7 −4.3 −9.9 1.2 　 −3.5 −11.4 4.3 0.374 8 weeks 3 −0.7 2.9 −0.8 −6.3 4.7 　 −3.4 2.7 −3.3 −8.9 2.2 　 −2.6 −10.4 5.3 0.521 12 weeks 3 0.6 2.8 0.6 −4.9 6.2 　 −3.6 2.9 −3.6 −9.1 2.0 　 −4.2 −12.0 3.6 0.292 appendix 4. intergroup comparisons of sfa and tfa between the two groups. parameter (unit) intervention period placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 94) difference between the two groups 1 emm of the difference was obtained by subtracting the value of the placebo group from that of the intervention group. 2 data are presented as the mean ± se and were compared between the two groups using the student's t-test. 3 data are presented as the mean ± se, emm, and the 95%ci (95%ci−, 95%ci+). the data for each timepoint and the changes from baseline were compared between groups in linear mixed models with baseline values as covariates, time, group, in-teraction between time and group, interaction between baseline values and time, and study participants as factors. page 5 of 11 mean se mean se mean se emm 3 95% ci− 95% ci+ mean se emm 3 95% ci− 95% ci+ mean se emm 3 95% ci− 95% ci+ mean se emm 3 95% ci− 95% ci+ mean se emm 3 95% ci− 95% ci+ mean se emm 3 95% ci− 95% ci+ body weight (kg) 69.6 1.0 　 69.6 0.9 　 69.4 0.9 69.4 69.0 69.9 　 69.3 0.9 69.3 68.8 69.7 　 69.3 1.0 69.3 68.9 69.8 　 69.0 0.9 69.0 68.6 69.5 　 69.0 1.0 69.0 68.6 69.5 　 68.3 1.0 68.3 67.8 68.7 δbody weight (kg) − − 　 − − 　 −0.2 0.2 −0.2 −0.7 0.3 　 −0.4 0.2 −0.4 −0.8 0.1 　 −0.3 0.2 −0.3 −0.8 0.2 　 −0.6 0.2 −0.6 −1.1 −0.2 　 −0.6 0.2 −0.6 −1.0 −0.1 　 −1.3 0.4 −1.3 −1.8 −0.9 bmi (kg/m 2 ) 25.6 0.2 　 25.7 0.2 　 25.6 0.2 25.6 25.4 25.8 　 25.5 0.2 25.5 25.3 25.7 　 25.5 0.2 25.5 25.4 25.7 　 25.4 0.2 25.4 25.2 25.6 　 25.4 0.2 25.4 25.3 25.6 　 25.2 0.2 25.1 25.0 25.3 δbmi (kg/m 2 ) − − 　 − − 　 −0.1 0.1 −0.1 −0.2 0.1 　 −0.1 0.1 −0.1 −0.3 0.0 　 −0.1 0.1 −0.1 −0.3 0.1 　 −0.2 0.1 −0.2 −0.4 −0.1 　 −0.2 0.1 −0.2 −0.4 0.0 　 −0.5 0.2 −0.5 −0.7 −0.3 abdominal circumference 4 (cm) 92.1 0.6 　 92.0 0.7 　 91.7 0.6 91.7 90.9 92.5 　 91.6 0.7 91.6 90.8 92.3 　 92.0 0.7 91.9 91.2 92.7 　 91.5 0.7 91.5 90.7 92.3 　 91.4 0.7 91.4 90.6 92.2 　 91.3 0.7 91.3 90.5 92.0 δabdominal circumference 4 (cm) − − 　 − − 　 −0.4 0.4 −0.4 −1.1 0.4 　 −0.5 0.4 −0.5 −1.2 0.3 　 −0.1 0.4 −0.1 −0.9 0.7 　 −0.6 0.4 −0.6 −1.3 0.2 　 −0.6 0.4 −0.7 −1.4 0.1 　 −0.8 0.4 −0.8 −1.6 0.0 waist circumference 5 (cm) 84.0 0.6 　 84.7 0.7 　 84.5 0.7 84.7 84.0 85.4 　 84.7 0.7 84.4 83.7 85.1 　 84.7 0.6 84.9 84.2 85.7 　 84.1 0.7 83.8 83.1 84.5 　 84.0 0.6 84.3 83.6 85.0 　 84.1 0.7 83.8 83.1 84.5 δwaist circumference 5 (cm) − − 　 − − 　 0.4 0.3 0.4 −0.3 1.1 　 0.0 0.4 0.0 −0.7 0.7 　 0.6 0.3 0.6 −0.1 1.3 　 −0.6 0.4 −0.6 −1.3 0.1 　 0.0 0.3 −0.1 −0.8 0.6 　 −0.6 0.4 −0.5 −1.3 0.2 body fat ratio (%) 30.9 0.8 　 31.4 0.7 　 30.3 0.8 30.5 30.1 30.9 　 30.4 0.8 30.2 29.8 30.6 　 29.8 0.8 30.0 29.6 30.4 　 30.5 0.7 30.3 29.9 30.7 　 29.6 0.8 29.8 29.4 30.2 　 30.1 0.7 29.9 29.5 30.3 δbody fat ratio (%) − − 　 − − 　 −0.6 0.2 −0.7 −1.0 −0.3 　 −1.0 0.2 −1.0 −1.4 −0.6 　 −1.1 0.2 −1.1 −1.5 −0.7 　 −0.9 0.2 −0.9 −1.3 −0.5 　 −1.3 0.2 −1.3 −1.7 −0.9 　 −1.3 0.2 −1.3 −1.7 −0.9 fat mass (kg) 21.3 0.5 　 21.6 0.5 　 20.8 0.5 21.0 20.6 21.3 　 20.9 0.5 20.7 20.3 21.0 　 20.4 0.5 20.6 20.2 20.9 　 20.8 0.5 20.6 20.3 21.0 　 20.2 0.5 20.4 20.1 20.8 　 20.7 0.5 20.5 20.1 20.8 δfat mass (kg) − − 　 − − 　 −0.5 0.1 −0.5 −0.9 −0.2 　 −0.8 0.2 −0.8 −1.1 −0.4 　 −0.9 0.2 −0.9 −1.2 −0.5 　 −0.8 0.2 −0.8 −1.2 −0.5 　 −1.0 0.2 −1.0 −1.4 −0.7 　 −1.0 0.2 −1.0 −1.3 −0.6 lean mass (kg) 48.3 1.0 　 48.0 0.9 　 48.6 1.0 48.5 48.1 48.8 　 48.7 1.0 48.9 48.6 49.3 　 48.9 1.0 48.7 48.3 49.1 　 48.2 0.9 48.4 48.1 48.8 　 48.8 1.0 48.6 48.3 49.0 　 48.1 0.9 48.3 47.9 48.7 δlean mass (kg) − − 　 − − 　 0.3 0.1 0.3 −0.1 0.6 　 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.4 1.1 　 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.9 　 0.3 0.1 0.3 −0.1 0.6 　 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.8 　 0.1 0.1 0.1 −0.2 0.5 muscle mass (kg) 45.6 1.0 　 45.2 0.9 　 45.9 1.0 45.7 45.2 46.1 　 45.6 0.9 45.8 45.3 46.2 　 46.1 1.0 45.9 45.4 46.3 　 45.4 0.9 45.6 45.2 46.1 　 46.0 1.0 45.8 45.4 46.3 　 44.8 1.0 45.0 44.6 45.5 δmuscle mass (kg) − − 　 − − 　 0.3 0.1 0.3 −0.2 0.7 　 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.8 　 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.9 　 0.3 0.1 0.3 −0.2 0.7 　 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.0 0.9 　 −0.3 0.5 −0.4 −0.8 0.1 t-cho (mg/dl) 223.7 3.8 　 228.3 3.6 　 226.5 3.9 228.4 224.1 232.8 　 226.3 3.6 224.4 220.0 228.7 　 223.0 4.1 224.9 220.6 229.2 　 224.7 3.6 222.7 218.3 227.0 　 220.5 3.9 222.3 218.0 226.6 　 220.8 3.5 219.0 214.7 223.4 δt-cho (mg/dl) − − 　 − − 　 2.8 2.2 2.4 −1.9 6.7 　 −2.0 2.3 −1.7 −6.0 2.7 　 −0.8 2.0 −1.1 −5.4 3.2 　 −3.6 2.3 −3.3 −7.7 1.0 　 −3.2 2.7 −3.7 −8.1 0.6 　 −7.5 2.2 −7.0 −11.3 −2.6 hdl-cho (mg/dl) 61.6 1.6 　 63.8 1.9 　 62.6 1.5 63.6 62.2 65.0 　 63.9 1.9 62.9 61.5 64.3 　 61.7 1.5 62.7 61.3 64.1 　 62.9 1.8 61.9 60.5 63.3 　 60.3 1.4 61.3 59.9 62.7 　 62.4 1.9 61.4 60.0 62.8 δhdl-cho (mg/dl) − − 　 − − 　 1.0 0.7 0.9 −0.5 2.3 　 0.1 0.7 0.2 −1.2 1.6 　 0.1 0.8 0.0 −1.4 1.4 　 −0.9 0.8 −0.8 −2.2 0.6 　 −1.2 0.8 −1.4 −2.8 0.0 　 −1.4 0.8 −1.3 −2.7 0.1 ldl-cho (mg/dl) 136.8 3.3 　 140.3 3.4 　 139.5 3.6 140.9 136.9 144.9 　 135.9 3.3 134.5 130.5 138.5 　 136.6 3.6 138.1 134.1 142.1 　 135.6 3.5 134.1 130.1 138.1 　 135.9 3.4 137.2 133.2 141.2 　 134.2 3.2 132.8 128.8 136.8 δldl-cho (mg/dl) − − 　 − − 　 2.7 2.0 2.4 −1.6 6.4 　 −4.3 2.3 −4.0 −8.0 0.0 　 −0.2 1.7 −0.4 −4.4 3.6 　 −4.6 2.3 −4.4 −8.4 −0.4 　 −0.9 2.3 −1.3 −5.3 2.7 　 −6.1 2.0 −5.7 −9.7 −1.7 tg (mg/dl) 127.0 7.8 　 127.2 9.2 　 128.6 8.0 128.7 112.0 145.4 　 144.6 15.9 144.5 127.7 161.3 　 125.6 6.9 125.7 109.0 142.4 　 133.9 11.9 133.9 117.1 150.7 　 123.5 6.7 123.6 106.8 140.3 　 126.6 8.2 126.6 109.8 143.4 δtg (mg/dl) − − 　 − − 　 1.6 5.6 1.6 −15.1 18.3 　 17.4 14.0 17.4 0.6 34.2 　 −1.4 6.6 −1.4 −18.1 15.3 　 6.8 10.9 6.8 −10.0 23.6 　 −3.5 5.7 −3.5 −20.2 13.2 　 −0.5 9.1 −0.5 −17.3 16.3 1 data are presented as the mean ± se. 2 data are presented as the mean ± se, emm, and the 95%ci (95%ci−, 95%ci+). 3 emm of the difference was obtained by subtracting the value of the placebo group from that of the intervention group. 4 circumference at the level of the umbilicus was recorded. 5 minimum abdominal circumference was recorded. appendix 5. measurement data of parameters obtained from physical examination and biochemical analysis. parameter (unit) baseline 1 placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 94) placebo group (n = 95) 4 weeks 2 8 weeks 2 12 weeks 2 placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 94)placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 94) intervention group (n = 94) page 6 of 11 emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ emm 1 95% ci− 95% ci+ body weight (kg) 69.6 67.7 71.5 69.4 67.5 71.3 69.3 67.4 71.2 69.0 67.1 70.9 bmi (kg/m 2 ) 25.6 25.2 26.0 25.6 25.2 25.9 25.5 25.1 25.9 25.4 25.0 25.8 abdominal circumference 2 (cm) 92.1 90.8 93.4 91.7 90.5 93.0 92.0 90.7 93.3 91.4 90.2 92.7 waist circumference 3 (cm) 84.0 82.8 85.3 84.5 83.2 85.7 84.7 83.4 85.9 84.0 82.7 85.3 body fat ratio (%) 30.9 29.4 32.5 30.3 28.7 31.8 29.8 28.3 31.4 29.6 28.1 31.2 fat mass (kg) 21.3 20.2 22.3 20.8 19.7 21.8 20.4 19.4 21.5 20.2 19.2 21.3 lean mass (kg) 48.3 46.3 50.3 48.6 46.6 50.6 48.9 46.9 50.9 48.8 46.8 50.8 muscle mass (kg) 45.6 43.7 47.5 45.9 43.9 47.8 46.1 44.2 48.0 46.0 44.1 47.9 t-cho (mg/dl) 223.7 216.0 231.5 226.5 218.8 234.3 223.0 215.2 230.7 220.5 212.8 228.3 hdl-cho (mg/dl) 61.6 58.6 64.5 62.6 59.6 65.6 61.7 58.7 64.7 60.3 57.3 63.3 ldl-cho (mg/dl) 136.8 129.9 143.7 139.5 132.6 146.4 136.6 129.7 143.5 135.9 129.0 142.7 tg (mg/dl) 127.0 112.5 141.6 128.6 114.1 143.2 125.6 111.1 140.2 123.5 109.0 138.1 body weight (kg) 69.6 67.8 71.5 69.3 67.4 71.1 69.0 67.2 70.9 68.3 66.4 70.2 bmi (kg/m 2 ) 25.7 25.3 26.1 25.5 25.2 25.9 25.4 25.1 25.8 25.2 24.8 25.6 abdominal circumference 2 (cm) 92.0 90.7 93.4 91.6 90.2 92.9 91.5 90.1 92.8 91.3 89.9 92.6 waist circumference 3 (cm) 84.7 83.3 86.1 84.7 83.2 86.1 84.1 82.6 85.5 84.1 82.7 85.5 body fat ratio (%) 31.4 29.9 32.8 30.4 29.0 31.8 30.5 29.0 31.9 30.1 28.6 31.5 fat mass (kg) 21.6 20.6 22.7 20.9 19.8 21.9 20.8 19.8 21.8 20.7 19.6 21.7 lean mass (kg) 48.0 46.1 49.9 48.7 46.8 50.6 48.2 46.4 50.1 48.1 46.2 50.0 muscle mass (kg) 45.2 43.4 47.0 45.6 43.8 47.4 45.4 43.6 47.2 44.8 43.0 46.6 t-cho (mg/dl) 228.3 221.2 235.4 226.3 219.2 233.4 224.7 217.6 231.8 220.8 213.7 227.9 hdl-cho (mg/dl) 63.8 60.1 67.5 63.9 60.2 67.6 62.9 59.2 66.6 62.4 58.7 66.1 ldl-cho (mg/dl) 140.3 133.7 146.9 135.9 129.3 142.5 135.6 129.0 142.2 134.2 127.6 140.8 tg (mg/dl) 127.2 104.1 150.2 144.6 121.5 167.6 133.9 110.9 157.0 126.6 103.6 149.7 2 circumference at the level of the umbilicus was recorded. 3 minimum abdominal circumference was recorded. placebo group (n = 95) parameter (unit) appendix 6. the emm and the 95%ci of parameters obtained from physical examination and biochemical analysis for analysis of intragroup analysis. intervention group (n = 94) 1 emm of the difference was obtained by subtracting the value of the baseline from the reading at the time. baseline 4 weeks 8 weeks 12 weeks page 7 of 11 appendix 7. adverse events during the study. subject id symptom occurrence day in 2021 disappearance day in 2021 severity treatment progress and outcome causality 54839 eczema april 11 april 12 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 56020 common cold april 15 april 16 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 11 april 15 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 21 april 23 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association allergic rhinitis april 2 may 2 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association cough april 2 april 23 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association eye strain may 8 may 17 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association hemostasis may 8 may 13 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association mydriasis may 8 may 15 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 57248 back pain april 6 april 7 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 57823 muscle pain april 1 may 12 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 57829 allergic rhinitis march 29 april 11 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 10 april 11 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 13 april 14 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 15 april 16 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association dysmenorrhea may 9 may 11 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 56037 joint pain may 2 may 5 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 56829 headache april 27 april 28 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 56868 diarrhea may 8 may 9 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 15 april 18 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association may 7 may 9 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association 57850 common cold april 27 april 30 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 5 april 9 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 12 april 23 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 27 may 1 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association may 1 may 5 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association may 10 may 11 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association may 13 may 14 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association oral mucositis april 6 april 11 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 21 april 24 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association april 25 may 1 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association may 3 may 8 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association hay fever april 10 april 12 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association gastroenteritis april 10 april 12 mild medication recovery/ disappearance no association placebo group intervention group 56033 headache 56285 56317 58102 56022 headache 57336 dysmenorrhea 58000 constipation intestines page 8 of 11 mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd systolic blood pressure (mmhg) 123.7 14.8 125.0 13.9 0.542 121.0 13.2 126.0 16.6 0.021* 120.7 14.1 126.3 15.7 0.011* 122.8 13.7 125.3 14.4 0.212 diastolic blood pressure (mmhg) 81.4 11.4 82.7 11.7 0.438 80.4 10.6 82.1 11.6 0.292 79.2 10.7 82.0 12.1 0.086 80.9 11.0 82.5 11.1 0.318 pulse rate (bpm) 72.8 9.8 73.9 9.0 0.407 73.4 9.2 74.3 10.2 0.528 74.2 9.9 73.6 10.0 0.691 73.0 9.9 74.1 9.5 0.429 body temperature (°c) 35.8 1.1 35.8 1.0 0.841 36.2 0.3 36.2 0.3 0.777 36.3 0.2 36.3 0.2 0.388 36.3 0.2 36.3 0.2 0.902 appendix 8. physical parameters during the study (fas and saf). baseline 4 weeks data are presented as the mean ± sd and were compared between the two groups using the student's t-test. 8 weeks 12 weeks parameter p value * p < 0.05. intervention group (n = 95)p value p value p value placebo group (n = 96) intervention group (n = 98) placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 97) placebo group (n = 95) placebo group (n = 96) intervention group (n = 98) page 9 of 11 appendix 9. hematological and biochemical parameters during the study (fas and saf). mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd mean sd wbc (/μl) 3300–9000 6006.3 1336.4 5857.1 1475.6 0.462 6126.0 1436.1 5766.3 1453.1 0.085 6107.4 1502.6 5652.6 1231.4 0.023 b 5914.7 1399.5 5686.3 1321.4 0.249 rbl (×10 4 /μl) male, 430–570 female, 380–500 482.9 44.4 477.6 38.7 0.377 480.9 45.0 471.5 37.7 0.118 475.0 46.1 468.0 40.9 0.264 472.1 46.1 467.4 38.1 0.448 hb (g/dl) male, 13.5–17.5 female, 11.5–15.0 14.5 1.4 14.5 1.3 0.843 14.3 1.4 14.3 1.3 0.809 14.2 1.4 14.2 1.4 0.916 14.1 1.4 14.2 1.3 0.786 ht (%) male, 39.7–52.4 female, 34.8–45.0 45.1 3.6 45.0 3.5 0.974 45.0 3.7 44.7 3.5 0.569 44.7 3.8 44.6 3.8 0.868 44.1 3.9 44.2 3.5 0.818 plt (×10 4 /μl) 14.0–34.0 27.0 5.2 27.1 5.1 0.862 27.2 4.9 26.6 5.3 0.430 26.4 5.2 26.0 5.2 0.573 26.7 5.2 26.3 5.3 0.557 mcv (fl) 85–102 93.5 5.0 94.4 4.0 0.197 93.9 4.9 95.0 4.2 0.100 94.3 4.8 95.4 4.1 0.089 93.6 4.7 94.6 4.2 0.122 mch (pg) 28.0–34.0 30.1 1.9 30.5 1.7 0.129 29.8 1.9 30.3 1.7 0.067 30.0 1.9 30.4 1.7 0.165 29.9 1.9 30.3 1.8 0.153 mchc (%) 30.2–35.1 32.2 1.0 32.3 1.0 0.458 31.8 1.1 31.9 1.0 0.410 31.8 1.1 31.8 1.1 0.896 32.0 1.1 32.0 1.0 0.816 neut (%) 40.0–75.0 59.4 8.2 57.9 7.5 0.178 59.2 8.2 57.6 8.1 0.178 59.1 8.8 57.2 7.8 0.114 58.7 8.1 57.4 7.8 0.241 lymp (%) 18.0–49.0 31.2 7.9 32.9 6.9 0.117 31.8 8.0 33.2 7.5 0.226 32.0 8.3 33.5 7.4 0.168 32.2 7.6 33.5 7.5 0.236 mono (%) 2.0–10.0 5.5 1.3 5.6 1.3 0.665 5.5 1.2 5.6 1.5 0.343 5.5 1.4 5.7 1.3 0.292 5.6 1.3 5.6 1.4 0.956 eos (%) 0–8.0 3.0 2.2 2.8 1.9 0.551 2.8 1.8 2.9 2.1 0.736 2.6 1.6 2.7 1.8 0.602 2.7 1.8 2.8 1.7 0.731 baso (%) 0–2.0 0.9 0.4 0.8 0.3 0.346 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.3 0.310 0.8 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.922 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.768 ast (u/l) 10–40 23.3 7.2 22.9 8.6 0.691 23.0 7.3 22.3 7.6 0.494 21.8 5.9 22.1 9.2 0.780 23.1 8.4 21.9 8.0 0.281 alt (u/l) 5–45 26.4 14.4 25.6 15.7 0.689 26.0 17.2 24.2 15.1 0.440 23.4 12.5 23.3 15.5 0.936 23.4 12.4 22.5 14.8 0.656 γ-gt (u/l) male, <80 female, <30 39.2 39.2 35.8 30.0 0.499 38.8 34.3 35.4 32.3 0.485 34.5 26.8 34.9 32.3 0.939 33.0 24.9 32.9 31.8 0.980 alp (u/l) 100–325 209.1 60.1 213.2 56.3 0.623 73.6 20.5 73.6 19.2 0.986 72.7 19.6 73.3 17.2 0.830 72.5 20.3 73.2 18.5 0.808 ld (u/l) 120–240 192.1 27.9 191.5 28.4 0.889 195.3 26.7 202.3 72.2 0.372 196.6 29.7 196.9 27.5 0.943 203.3 26.0 200.5 29.2 0.493 lap (u/l) male, 45–81 female, 37–61 54.6 12.5 54.9 15.8 0.886 54.3 11.7 54.2 13.2 0.943 54.0 10.1 54.2 11.3 0.905 53.2 10.8 52.8 11.7 0.792 t-bil (mg/dl) 0.2–1.2 0.8 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.853 0.8 0.2 0.8 0.3 0.766 0.8 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.651 0.8 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.682 d-bil (mg/dl) 0–0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.427 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.212 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.058 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.681 i-bil (mg/dl) 0.2–1.0 0.7 0.2 0.7 0.3 0.958 0.7 0.2 0.7 0.3 0.948 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.888 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.587 che (u/l) male, 234–493 female, 200–452 371.3 68.3 371.5 64.7 0.984 366.8 66.6 362.3 64.5 0.637 362.5 68.8 356.2 63.2 0.511 358.7 71.2 352.6 62.4 0.530 tp (g/dl) 6.7–8.3 7.2 0.4 7.2 0.3 0.267 7.2 0.3 7.2 0.4 0.783 7.2 0.4 7.2 0.4 0.721 7.2 0.4 7.3 0.4 0.276 bun (mg/dl) 8.0–20.0 13.8 3.4 12.8 3.5 0.065 13.6 3.1 13.2 3.3 0.417 13.4 3.5 12.9 2.9 0.303 13.1 3.1 12.3 2.7 0.038* cre (mg/dl) male, 0.61–1.04 female, 0.47–0.79 0.8 0.2 0.7 0.1 0.918 0.8 0.2 0.8 0.1 0.698 0.8 0.2 0.8 0.1 0.769 0.8 0.2 0.8 0.1 0.753 ua (mg/dl) male, 3.8–7.0 female, 2.5–7.0 5.4 1.4 5.5 1.4 0.584 5.3 1.2 5.5 1.4 0.285 5.4 1.2 5.6 1.4 0.303 5.4 1.3 5.5 1.4 0.647 ck (u/l) male, 60–270 female, 40–150 118.9 83.7 121.6 102.9 0.838 122.3 70.8 114.7 74.4 0.470 127.0 100.2 137.4 264.4 0.721 131.6 85.5 117.9 82.0 0.261 na (meq/l) 137–147 140.7 1.5 140.8 1.6 0.771 141.1 1.9 141.1 1.8 0.995 141.1 1.8 141.0 1.5 0.755 141.2 1.6 141.0 1.5 0.277 k (meq/l) 3.5–5.0 4.2 0.4 4.1 0.3 0.132 4.1 0.3 4.1 0.4 0.879 4.0 0.3 3.9 0.3 0.207 4.0 0.3 4.0 0.3 0.229 cl (meq/l) 98–108 101.7 1.9 101.6 1.9 0.706 101.4 1.9 101.5 2.0 0.939 101.5 2.1 101.6 1.8 0.558 101.9 1.9 101.6 1.7 0.234 ca (mg/dl) 8.4–10.4 9.4 0.3 9.4 0.3 0.290 9.4 0.3 9.4 0.3 0.937 9.3 0.3 9.3 0.3 0.718 9.2 0.3 9.3 0.3 0.680 ip (mg/dl) 2.5–4.5 3.3 0.5 3.2 0.5 0.565 3.5 0.7 3.4 0.6 0.498 3.7 0.7 3.6 0.6 0.596 3.4 0.6 3.3 0.5 0.607 fe (μg/dl) male, 50–200 female, 40–180 104.6 38.2 108.8 42.3 0.468 101.6 33.6 105.6 37.3 0.435 108.3 37.6 109.5 38.2 0.834 109.6 36.0 107.0 37.0 0.628 amy (u/l) 40–122 78.5 24.7 74.8 22.2 0.279 76.8 25.8 74.3 23.0 0.481 73.5 21.3 74.2 23.2 0.828 72.9 19.4 72.1 20.0 0.771 glucose (mg/dl) 70–109 88.5 12.7 87.7 9.9 0.636 87.7 9.6 87.4 10.7 0.859 87.9 9.5 88.1 11.3 0.879 89.0 13.5 88.2 8.7 0.637 hba1c (ngsp) (%) 4.6–6.2 5.4 0.4 5.5 0.4 0.363 5.4 0.4 5.5 0.4 0.800 5.4 0.4 5.5 0.4 0.436 5.4 0.4 5.4 0.3 0.985 ga (%) 12.3–16.5 12.8 1.5 12.7 1.2 0.560 12.7 1.5 12.7 1.3 0.816 13.0 1.5 12.9 1.1 0.663 12.9 1.5 12.9 1.1 0.707 intervention group (n = 98) p value placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 97) p value * p < 0.05. data are presented as the mean ± sd and were compared between the two groups using the student's t-test. parameter baseline 4 weeks 8 weeks placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 95) p value criteria 12 weeks placebo group (n = 96) intervention group (n = 98) p value placebo group (n = 96) page 10 of 11 appendix 10. distribution of the number of participants outside the reference value (fas and saf). inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside wbc 92 4 94 4 1.000 90 6 93 5 0.766 89 6 95 2 0.167 90 5 94 1 0.211 rbc 84 12 93 5 0.079 86 10 91 7 0.457 87 8 92 5 0.404 86 9 87 8 1.000 hb 88 8 93 5 0.404 89 7 93 5 0.566 85 10 90 7 0.456 86 9 90 5 0.406 ht 83 13 88 10 0.512 80 16 85 13 0.550 81 14 85 12 0.677 82 13 87 8 0.355 plt 87 9 91 7 0.611 86 10 92 6 0.308 84 11 91 6 0.213 88 7 89 6 1.000 mcv 89 7 93 5 0.566 88 8 91 7 0.794 88 7 91 6 0.781 90 5 89 6 1.000 mch 88 8 92 6 0.591 87 9 88 10 1.000 85 10 88 9 0.813 86 9 85 10 1.000 mchc 93 3 96 2 0.681 91 5 93 5 1.000 89 6 91 6 1.000 92 3 90 5 0.721 neut 94 2 97 1 0.619 93 3 95 3 1.000 91 4 95 2 0.442 91 4 95 0 0.121 lymp 93 3 95 3 1.000 93 3 95 3 1.000 89 6 95 2 0.167 90 5 94 1 0.211 mono 95 1 98 0 0.495 96 0 97 1 1.000 94 1 96 1 1.000 95 0 94 1 1.000 eos 91 5 96 2 0.276 95 1 95 3 0.621 95 0 95 2 0.497 94 1 95 0 1.000 baso 94 2 98 0 0.244 95 1 98 0 0.495 95 0 97 0 n. a. 95 0 95 0 n. a. ast 91 5 93 5 1.000 92 4 96 2 0.442 95 0 95 2 0.497 93 2 92 3 1.000 alt 87 9 88 10 1.000 87 9 93 5 0.280 87 8 92 5 0.404 87 8 91 4 0.372 γ-gt 71 25 78 20 0.397 74 22 82 16 0.280 76 19 82 15 0.453 77 18 84 11 0.226 alp 90 6 95 3 0.328 88 8 92 6 0.591 88 7 95 2 0.099 89 6 92 3 0.497 ld 91 5 93 5 1.000 85 11 81 17 0.308 82 13 82 15 0.839 73 22 78 17 0.473 lap 83 13 85 13 1.000 83 13 85 13 1.000 84 11 84 13 0.828 83 12 81 14 0.833 t-bil 89 7 88 10 0.613 93 3 92 6 0.498 90 5 84 13 0.081 86 9 90 5 0.406 d-bil 96 0 98 0 n. a. 95 1 96 2 1.000 94 1 95 2 1.000 93 2 94 1 1.000 i-bil 89 7 87 11 0.459 91 5 91 7 0.767 87 8 83 14 0.258 84 11 89 6 0.309 che 89 7 91 7 1.000 91 5 92 6 1.000 90 5 91 6 1.000 89 6 92 3 0.497 tp 86 10 94 4 0.103 90 6 93 5 0.766 85 10 87 10 1.000 87 8 91 4 0.372 bun 90 6 85 13 0.146 92 4 92 6 0.747 85 10 94 3 0.048* 92 3 90 5 0.721 cre 90 6 90 8 0.783 88 8 93 5 0.404 89 6 91 6 1.000 89 6 88 7 1.000 ua 83 13 83 15 0.839 85 11 83 15 0.529 83 12 80 17 0.421 84 11 81 14 0.668 ck 88 8 91 7 0.794 90 6 94 4 0.535 86 9 90 7 0.611 82 13 88 7 0.237 na 96 0 98 0 n. a. 95 1 97 1 1.000 95 0 97 0 n. a. 94 1 95 0 1.000 k 94 2 96 2 1.000 94 2 95 3 1.000 90 5 95 2 0.276 93 2 91 4 0.682 cl 93 3 97 1 0.366 94 2 96 2 1.000 93 2 96 1 0.619 93 2 93 2 1.000 ca 96 0 98 0 n. a. 95 1 98 0 0.495 95 0 97 0 n. a. 93 2 95 0 0.497 ip 93 3 92 6 0.498 89 7 96 2 0.099 83 12 89 8 0.353 86 9 89 6 0.592 fe 90 6 88 10 0.435 91 5 89 9 0.407 90 5 89 8 0.568 90 5 88 7 0.767 amy 88 8 90 8 1.000 89 7 89 9 0.795 91 4 88 9 0.250 92 3 90 5 0.721 glucose 89 7 95 3 0.211 90 6 94 4 0.535 91 4 91 6 0.747 89 6 93 2 0.279 hba1c (ngsp) 91 5 94 4 0.746 92 4 93 5 1.000 92 3 93 4 1.000 90 5 93 2 0.444 ga 59 37 66 32 0.454 51 45 60 38 0.310 60 35 64 33 0.763 61 34 67 28 0.439 8 weeks 12 weeks placebo group (n = 96) intervention group (n = 98) p value placebo group (n = 96) * p < 0.05. intervention group (n = 95) p value data represent the number of applicable subjects; they were compared between the two groups using the χ 2 test. n. a., not available. intervention group (n = 98) p value placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 97) p value placebo group (n = 95) parameter baseline 4 weeks page 11 of 11 appendix 11. parameters of the urine test during the study (fas and saf). inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside inside outside protein (−) 94 2 86 12 0.010* 89 7 89 9 0.795 88 7 89 8 1.000 88 7 88 7 1.000 sugar (−) 96 0 97 1 1.000 96 0 97 1 1.000 94 1 96 1 1.000 93 2 94 1 1.000 urobilinogen (±) 96 0 97 1 1.000 96 0 98 0 n. a. 95 0 97 0 n. a. 95 0 94 1 1.000 bilirubin (−) 96 0 98 0 n. a. 96 0 98 0 n. a. 95 0 97 0 n. a. 95 0 95 0 n. a. ph 5.0–7.5 95 1 96 2 1.000 95 1 96 2 1.000 92 3 96 1 0.366 94 1 94 1 1.000 hidden blood (−) 90 6 91 7 1.000 90 6 89 9 0.593 88 7 89 8 1.000 88 7 82 13 0.237 ketone body (−) 96 0 97 1 1.000 95 1 97 1 1.000 92 3 96 1 0.366 93 2 93 2 1.000 parameter criteria baseline 4 weeks 8 weeks n. a., not available. * p < 0.05. 12 weeks placebo group (n = 96) intervention group (n = 98) p value placebo group (n = 96) intervention group (n = 98) p value placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 97) p value placebo group (n = 95) intervention group (n = 95) p value data represent the number of applicable subjects; they were compared between the two groups using the χ 2 test. kombucha: probiotic beverage or ultra-processed food: a global review using nutritional classification | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 / research articles kombucha: probiotic beverage or ultra-processed food: a global review using nutritional classification authors carlos aulesa carmen gongora doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i12.1236 abstract aim/objectives: the aim of this work is, to know the true essence and content of kombucha through the statistical analysis of the food classification and nutritional component of the world database of kombucha-registered trademarks, which has been provided to us by the openfoodfact foundation. method: to gain an understanding of kombucha, a study on the global market for this beverage has been conducted. a total of 2,818 kombucha brands are currently marketed and registered as of april 1, 2023.this research has been made possible thanks to the fact that openfoodfact. app provides us with detailed descriptions of the products, nutritional components, as well as nutri-score, nova, and eco-score classifications for each registered trademark. results: the statistical analysis of 2,673 brands from the 13 main kombucha-producing countries reveals that, based on the nutri-score classification, 57% are deemed healthy (categories a, b, and c), while 43% are categorized as unhealthy (categories d and e). in terms of the nova classification, 70% fall under the healthy categories (1, 2, 3), with the remaining 30% classified as unhealthy, specifically falling into category 4 as ultra-processed. conclusions: the world market kombucha study shows contradictory results depending on the chosen food classification and the country. global basic advice for its consumption and specific tips for groups such as people with diabetes or cardiovascular disease are proposed. running title: global analysis market shows us kombucha´s distribution worldwide brands through the statistical analysis of openfoodfact database. keywords: kombucha, probiotic fermented food, scoby, nutri-score food classification, nova food classification, ultra-processed food. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-12-18 issue vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com efficacy and selenium enrichment of lycium barbarum in hydroponic and soil conditions in the ararat valley | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 / research articles efficacy and selenium enrichment of lycium barbarum in hydroponic and soil conditions in the ararat valley authors michael babakhanyan laura ghalachyan vergine chavushyan karen simonyan lilit darbinyan shushanik gulnazaryan lusya hovhannisyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i7.1349 abstract background: it is known that 60-80% of the population affected by various diseases, such as heart attack, stroke, and oncological diseases is associated with selenium (se) deficiency. therefore, enriching agricultural crops with se is considered a current issue.  objective: this study investigates se enrichment of lycium barbarum (lb) and its effectiveness in hydroponic and soil conditions in the ararat valley. the research focuses on the impact of adding exogenous se on plant productivity,  se accumulation, and the content of biologically active substances (bas) in lb berries and leaves.  methods: the experiments were conducted from 2021 to 2023 using hydroponic and soil cultivation methods with varying se concentrations in nutrient solutions and foliar nutrition.  results: the results demonstrate that se enrichment significantly increased se and bas levels in both leaves and berries of lb, with hydroponic cultivation exhibiting higher accumulation compared to soil conditions. foliar feeding with a 0.005% se solution and exogenous se addition to nutrient solutions at 1.0 mg/l resulted in notable improvements in se content and plant productivity. furthermore, the analyses revealed significant differences between hydroponically and soil-grown lb, emphasizing the potential of hydroponic cultivation for producing se-enriched plant material with enhanced bas content.  conclusion: hydroponic cultivation supplemented with se and foliar nutrition is recommended for obtaining se-rich lb plant material, which is suitable for medicinal and functional food purposes. these findings contribute to the development of biotechnologies for se -enriched plant production and addressing health and nutritional needs. keywords: goji, berries, biologically active substances, flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, carotenoids downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-07-23 issue vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com weight in relation to feeding practice among two years old children in al-hillah city | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 / research articles weight in relation to feeding practice among two years old children in al-hillah city authors mohammed talib abed nuhad mohammed kassim lina nidhal sajjad doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i6.1352 abstract background: babies and young children require adequate and high-quality nutrition to grow up healthy and reach their full potential. breast milk is a baby's healthiest option because it contains all the essential nutrients they need, and it has long been known that breastfeeding is good for both mom and baby. objectives:  to determine the relationship between mothers' feeding practices and child weight status under two years old. materials and methods: a descriptive correlational study design was carried out at babylon teaching hospital for maternity and children and al nour hospital, which was applied from december 2019 to the end of february 2020 as a period for data collection. the sample consisted of (150) mothers admitted with their infants in pediatric wards. the instrument was adopted and finally constructed after an extensive literature review to be ready for data collection and consumed 15-20 minutes with each participant. results: the study indicated that (76.7%) of mothers have bad feeding practices regarding child feeding, whereas (23.3%) have good feeding practices. in addition to other significant results, our study demonstrates a considerable positive relationship between the mode of feeding and a child's weight. conclusions: the vast majority of mothers have bad child-feeding practices. there was a significant correlation between the type of feeding and infant weight and a strong association between the mother’s feeding practice and child weight. keywords: weight, feeding practice, two years old children, effects, relation. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-06-12 issue vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com curcumin and amaranth as potential anti-inflammatory and protective agents in bone and joint diseases | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 / review articles curcumin and amaranth as potential anti-inflammatory and protective agents in bone and joint diseases authors cinthia n. cuero carmen colin-ferreyra wael hegazy hassan olivier peyruchaud patricia cerecero doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i7.1386 abstract there has been growing interest in medical research focused on natural products. as a result of the ancestral knowledge passed down through generations and the demands of our current era, there has been an increased demand for new strategies and the search for new molecules with therapeutic potential. this increase is due to new technologies, the evolution of diseases, and the emergence of new ones. in this review, we focus on the work and relevance of curcumin research, which is one of the main components of curcuma longa. additionally, we explore amaranth in its various reported species and components (seed, leaf, stem) studied. the focus is on the anti-inflammatory therapeutic potential, not only in one, but in different diseases characterized by inflammation and bone destruction. we aim to analyze the possible molecular mechanisms by which curcumin and amaranth act as well as data currently obtained from different studies. this review aims to open a new perspective to the investigation of these compounds in the field of diseases characterized by inflammation and bone destruction. keywords: curcumin, amaranth, treatment, inflammation, bone. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-07-12 issue vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 section review articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of calafate (berberis microphylla) supplementation on lipid profile in rats with diet-induced obesity | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 / research articles effect of calafate (berberis microphylla) supplementation on lipid profile in rats with diet-induced obesity authors carla guzmán university san sebastian raúl sánchez university of la frontera doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i10.823 abstract background: polyphenols represent a group of bioactive compounds of interest for their efficacy in the prevention and treatment of some diseases of a cardiovascular nature. calafate (berberis microphylla) is a native chilean fruit, promising due to its high number of phenolic compounds, with predominance of anthocyanins delphinidin-3-hexoside and petunidin-3-hexoside.    methods: sprague dawley rats fed a high-fat diet (hfd) were supplemented with 350 mg/kg of freeze-dried calafate for 10 weeks. dietary variables, plasma glucose, lipid profile, as well as atherogenic and cardiovascular risk indexes were measured.    results: animals receiving calafate with their hfd diet compared to the hfd control was not associated with significant modifications in dietary variables or in total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. however, due to the modest elevation of high-density lipoproteins, the atherogenic index and the cardiovascular risk index were significantly decreased.    conclusion: based on these results, the calafate could have an antithrombotic function, favoring cardiovascular health.   keywords: high-fat diet, polyphenols, calafate berry, hdl-cholesterol, atherogenic index author biographies carla guzmán, university san sebastian faculty of health care sciencies. university san sebastian academic nutrition and dietetics career     raúl sánchez, university of la frontera faculty of medicine. university of la frontera. academic program in medical sciencies. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-10-05 issue vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com efficacy of an iron-fortified gummy on iron-deficiency anemia in young women | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 / research articles efficacy of an iron-fortified gummy on iron-deficiency anemia in young women authors yan xiao bingjie yang jiayi ni ran hu doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i2.1239 abstract objective: we conducted this single-center, double-blinded, randomized and placebo-controlled study to explore the efficacy of an iron-fortified gummy on relieving iron-deficiency anemia in young chinese women. participants’ blood hemoglobin level was set as the primary outcome. the secondary objectives were to assess the effects of the iron-fortified gummy on participants’ blood iron levels, skin barrier functions, skin temperature regulating ability, menstruation and leucorrhea status, sleep quality, and overall quality of life. methods: seventy female participants aged 18-35 years with moderate iron-deficiency anemia (blood hemoglobin 90-120 g/l) were recruited and randomly assigned to an intervention group or a placebo group. we supplemented the diets of the participants with an iron-fortified gummy or a placebo for eight weeks. their blood hemoglobin level, iron biomarkers, skin biophysical characteristics, hand temperature, self-reported menstruation and leucorrhea status, life quality and sleep quality were recorded at baseline, mid-way through the study and the end of the study. we compared the differences of the above outcomes between the intervention group and the control group.  results: after eight weeks of daily iron-fortified gummy intake, 80% of the participants showed improvement in blood hemoglobin concentration, with a mean increase of 14.5 g/l (95% confidence interval: 9.4, 19.5 g/l) compared to the control. their serum iron and ferritin levels had significantly increased. they also had improved facial skin hydration and complexions, reduced transepidermal water loss, and accelerated temperature recovery in their hands. intake of the iron-fortified gummy effectively reduced the incidence of menstrual headaches and insomnia. participants reported prolonged sleep time, improved energy level, mobility, mental concentration, ability to engage in daily activities and work, as well as better perception of quality of life and health satisfaction. conclusion:daily consumption of the iron-fortified gummy over eight weeks could help build up blood iron levels to generate hemoglobin, relieve iron-deficiency anemia and related symptoms in young chinese women. intake of iron through gummy on a daily basis is an effective method to gradually increase the participants’ iron levels, leading to sustainable long-term benefits. study registration: chinese clinical trial registry (chictr2200061345). downloads [abstract] [full article] [supplementary] published 2024-02-01 issue vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the modulatory effect of al-assi river trout fish meal on ocd manifestations and molecular mechanisms in balb/c mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 / research articles the modulatory effect of al-assi river trout fish meal on ocd manifestations and molecular mechanisms in balb/c mice authors fatima salloum mohamad farran houssam shaib abdo jurjus roni sleiman mahmoud khalil doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i5.1321 abstract background: obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd) is a type of anxiety disorder that is marked by intrusive and distressing thoughts, as well as repetitive behaviors. trout fish (oncorhynchus mykiss) is a functional food that might have potential therapeutic effects on many neurological disorders including ocd. objective: this study aims to explore the effects of al-assi river trout fish meal, a dietary source of tryptophan, on obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd) symptoms and related molecular pathways in balb/c mice. methods: ocd mice were divided into five groups: one control group without any treatment, one group treated with fluoxetine (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), and three groups fed with different doses of trout fish meal (0, 7.5, and 15 g/kg body weight). the mice were subjected to various behavioral tests, such as the marble test, tail suspension test, sucrose preference test, and forced swim test, to evaluate ocd and depressive-like behaviors. moreover, the expression and protein levels of genes involved in the serotonergic and gabaergic systems were measured. results: the results indicated that trout fish meal had dose-dependent effects on ocd-like behaviors, revealing exacerbation at lower doses and improvement at higher doses. for instance, in the marble test, ocd mice fed with 7.5 g of trout fish/kg body weight buried more marbles than those fed with 15 g/kg of trout fish (4.5 vs 3.33 out of 6, p>0.05). in the tail suspension test, the immobility time of ocd mice treated with fluoxetine was numerically lower than that of the untreated ocd mice (63.6 vs 87.3 seconds, p>0.05). furthermore, normal mice had different baseline gene expression profiles than ocd mice. normal mice had the highest fold increase of gabra gene expression (3.75) compared to the untreated ocd group, followed by groups treated with 7.5 and 15 g of trout fish/kg body weight (2.02 and 1.44, respectively). conclusions: this study suggests that dietary interventions rich in tryptophan, such as trout fish meal, may have modulatory effects on ocd symptoms and molecular mechanisms in mice. however, the optimal dosing and individual variability need to be considered. more research is required to clarify the underlying mechanisms and to evaluate the potential efficacy of trout fish meal in treating ocd in humans. keywords: balb/c mice, ocd, qpcr, western blotting, gabra, serotonin, trout fish, tryptophan. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-05-16 issue vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com evaluation of theobromine content and the relationship between cocoa percentages in dark chocolates | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 / research articles evaluation of theobromine content and the relationship between cocoa percentages in dark chocolates authors fatma hulyam eren eastern mediterranean university, nutrition and dietetics department, health sciences faculty, famagusta, north cyprus https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5661-5632 seray kabaran doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i10.1141 abstract background: there are no specific regulations governing the labeling of dark chocolate or its bioactive component quantities.. the main alkaloid of the cocoa bean is theobromine. chocolate is by far the main source of theobromine in the western diet. to assess their effects on health, it is essential to understand the ingredients and composition of biologically active substances in chocolates available in stores. objective: the present study aims to analyze the theobromine contents of commercial chocolates and evaluates the association between the labeled cocoa mass percentage (%), theobromine contents and evaluated non-fat cocoa solid (nfcs) parameters of dark chocolates.  materials and methods: several types of chocolates (bittersweet dark [60-80% cacao], semisweet dark [45-50% cacao], milk chocolate, and chocolate spreads) were analyzed using uv-vis spectrophotometry with duplicate measurements.. samples (n=20) typically 6 months apart from production dates have been selected.  results: overall range for theobromine content varied from 1.9 to 9.6 mg/g. of all, bittersweet dark chocolate had the highest (8.1±1.01 mg/g) concentration of theobromine in comparison to semisweet dark chocolate (6.4±0.79 mg/g). milk-chocolate (2.7±0.26 mg/g) and chocolate-spreads (2.7±0.81 mg/g) had the lowest concentration of theobromine. a strong correlation between theobromine content and declared cocoa solid % was found in both of the dark chocolate categories (r = 0.523, p = 0.081 and r = 0.771, p = 0.009 for semisweet and bittersweet dark chocolate, respectively). nfcs indicated a correlation between the labeled cocoa solid % (r2 = 0.766) and the calculated cocoa solid % (r2 = 0.803) in dark chocolates. a high correlation has also been determined between the labeled cocoa solid percentage and the calculated cacao solid percentage in dark chocolates (r2 = 0.902). conclusion: the labeled content of the cocoa mass of dark chocolates could be a preliminary information for the consumer about theobromine capacity. keywords: theobromine, chocolate, dark chocolate, cocoa-percentage, uv-vis spectrophotometry author biography fatma hulyam eren, eastern mediterranean university, nutrition and dietetics department, health sciences faculty, famagusta, north cyprus eastern mediterranean university downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-10-24 issue vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com hypoglycemic effects of antioxidant-rich plant extracts on postprandial glycemic responses in participants with prediabetes (glare study) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 / research articles hypoglycemic effects of antioxidant-rich plant extracts on postprandial glycemic responses in participants with prediabetes (glare study) authors wen xin janice lim massey university https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0222-6324 cheryl s. gammon massey university pamela r. von hurst massey university lynne chepulis waikato medical research centre, university of waikato owen mugridge massey university rachel a. page massey university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i11.829 abstract background: plant extracts may help to improve glycemic control in individuals with poor glycemic control. however, few studies have been investigated in the prediabetes cohort, which is a high-risk condition for t2dm. thus, this study aimed to investigate the acute effect of grape seed, rooibos tea, and olive leaf extracts on postprandial blood glucose and insulin in participants with prediabetes.  methods: an acute, single-blind, placebo-controlled, non-randomized, crossover study (actrn12617000837325) where placebo and extracts of grape seed, rooibos tea and olive leaf standardized for total antioxidant capacity were given separately during an oral glucose tolerance test to participants (n=19, five men and fourteen women, aged 65.0 ± 1.6 years, body mass index (bmi) 27.3 ± 1.1 kg/m2) with prediabetes (glycated hemoglobin a1c (hba1c) 42 ± 1 mmol/mol). the primary outcome incremental area under the curve of glucose (iaucglucose) was examined with other glycemic measures.  data was analyzed using linear mixed model for repeated measures. secondary analysis was conducted by stratifying participants into either a healthier or less healthy subgroup based on the postprandial time to glucose and insulin peaks, with the less healthy subgroup experiencing delayed glucose and/or insulin peaks. results: there were no overall significant changes to glucose and insulin measures between all plant extracts and placebo (p>0.05). upon secondary analysis, all extracts affected glycemic responses in the less healthy subgroup. compared to placebo, grape seed reduced plasma iaucglucose(p=0.016, 21.9% reduction), 2 h postprandial glucose (2hpg) (p=0.034, 14.7% reduction) and metabolic clearance rate of glucose (mcrglucose) (p=0.016, 16.7% increase). it also improved insulin indices such as 2 h postprandial insulin (2hpi) (p=0.029, 22.4% reduction) and stumvoll overall insulin sensitivity index (isioverall) (p=0.028, 15.0% increase). rooibos tea extract significantly improved β-cell function as demonstrated by the increased oral disposition index (di) (p=0.031, 32.4% increase) compared to placebo. olive leaf extract significantly increased incremental area under the curve of insulin (iaucinsulin) (p=0.040, 16.7% increase).       conclusion: grape seed, rooibos tea and olive leaf extracts demonstrated acute hypoglycemic benefits in adults with prediabetes and having less healthy metabolic profiles. a chronic study on the plant extracts is warranted to determine their longer-term impact on prediabetes. trial registration id: actrn12617000837325 keywords: grape seed extract; rooibos tea extract; olive leaf extract; impaired glycemic control; hyperglycemia; hypoglycemic effects; insulin sensitivity; beta-cell function downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-11-16 issue vol. 11 no. 11 (2021): november 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a review on the health benefits of monechma ciliatum (black mahlab): a potential functional food | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 / review articles a review on the health benefits of monechma ciliatum (black mahlab): a potential functional food authors abdalbasit adam mariod eshraga mustafa a. mustafa marwa bushra yahia doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i2.879 abstract background: monechma ciliatum (mc) (acanthaceae family) is a herb that grows in tropical and subtropical regions. it grows with small, brownish-black seeds. this is why the sudanese people call it the “black mahlab”. this plant is primarily used in traditional meals, as well as the production of medical treatments and perfumes. additionally, the seeds of the monechma ciliatum plant are rich in fats, proteins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. it also functions as an effective laxative. as a result, this plant is commonly found as a supplement in cereal to enrich nutritional value. this review explores the nutritive value, antioxidants, antimicrobial, medicinal, cosmeceutical, and oxytocic properties of monechma ciliatum seeds, leaves, and stem. to prepare this review, we researched published scientific literature by using the following keywords: “monechma”, “antioxidants”, “antimicrobial”, nutritional”, “monechma ciliatum”, “monechma phenolics”. our search was carried out in pubmed and google scholar databases and included original research from the past 25 years in english only. a total number of 50 original papers, which mentioned the phytochemistry, nutritional, biological, and medicinal properties of monechma ciliatum were selected and considered for this review.   keywords: monechma ciliatum, black mahlab, nutritional, antioxidants, antimicrobial, oxytocic downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-02-09 issue vol. 12 no. 2 (2022): february 2022 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional food science: differences and similarities with food science | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 / review articles functional food science: differences and similarities with food science authors danik martirosyan phd, functional food institute, dallas, tx, united states jessica von brugger sarina bialow doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i9.831 abstract many nations are facing rising healthcare costs. the field of functional food science (ffs) has been introduced to combat this. functional foods are foods with added bioactive compounds which provide a clinically proven health benefit. however, ffs and food science (fs) are often viewed as one and the same. to progress in development and research in the field of ffs, the two must be viewed as separate. currently, the fda has not issued or accepted a formal definition for functional foods. in contrast, the fda accepts and actively uses fs. this makes it difficult to regulate functional foods and weakens public trust. the fda currently has a health claim authorization system in place, but it still fails to properly regulate functional foods. other countries, such as japan, have regulatory systems set in place specifically for functional foods. this increases public trust as there is a strict process that a product has to go through before it is authorized for consumption. countries such as japan could serve as a model for a functional foods regulatory system in the united states. the functional food center (ffc) has proposed a 15 step system similar to japan’s to authorize functional foods in the u.s. due to a lack of governmental recognition, there is a large educational gap in secondary schools and higher educational institutions when it comes to fs and ffs. courses and lessons regarding fs are more available to students than courses and lessons concerning ffs. in addition, the challenges that the field of ffs faces also work to separate the field from fs. because ffs is concerned with creating functional food products (ffps) that have a clinically proven health benefit, the scientific research in this field must meet rigorous standards to ensure that the ffp in question truly has substantial evidence for the health claim. it is important to not only acknowledge the distinction between these two fields but to also understand the benefit this will have on the well being of the general population. with ffs as an established field, research can be funded accordingly and new functional foods can be developed that can prevent or lessen the symptoms of disease. through regular analysis and measurements through specific biomarkers, ffp can work alongside western medicine to combat disease and dysfunction. finally, it is important that a major area that differs is the emphasis on quantity when it comes to ffs. specific quantities must be outlined and followed in order for ffp to function as they are intended. keywords: functional food science, food science, bioactive compound, biomarker, functional food product, foods for specific health use downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-09-02 issue vol. 11 no. 9 (2021): september 2021 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com comparative analysis of the effect of fermented derivatives from bactrian milk on the gut microbiome | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 / research articles comparative analysis of the effect of fermented derivatives from bactrian milk on the gut microbiome authors kozhakhmetov samat national laboratory astana, nazarbayev university, astana, z05h0p9, kazakhstan tultabayeva tamara suieubayev maxat muhanbetganov nurislam pernebek zhanel tarzhanova dinar uyzbayeva indira khassenbekova zhanagul zhantureyeva akmaral jarmukhanov zharkyn kozhakhmetova saniya kushugulova almagul doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i12.1247 abstract background:the gut microbiome plays a vital role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis, and its modulation through dietary interventions has garnered considerable interest in improving human health. in this study, we investigated the effect of traditional kazakh fermented milk products derived from camel milk on the gut microbiome of rats.  objective:the animals were divided into three groups: the bactrian milk group (bcm), the camel yogurt group (cmy), and the camel cheese group (cmc).  results:after 4 weeks of intervention, the relative abundance of bacterial taxa varied significantly in the bcm and bactrian milk derivative groups. the cmy group demonstrated a 2-fold increase in the relative abundance of the genus ligilactobacillus (p=0.032), whereas the cmc group showed a 3-fold decrease (p=0.009). prevotella_9 exhibited an inverse abundance vector in the cmy (p=0.0005) and cmc (p=0.0001) groups compared to the bcm group. additionally, 53 metabolic pathways were predicted, each showing varying relative abundances in response to dietary interventions. notably, the metabolic pathways associated with amines, polyamines, cell structure, fatty acids, and nucleoside and nucleotide biosynthesis underwent the greatest changes.  conclusion:consumption of camel milk yogurt led to an increase in biodiversity and abundance in the gut microbiota (p<0.01), as evidenced by shannon and simpson's indices. in summary, our study demonstrates that fermented camel milk products significantly influence the gut microbiome and metabolic pathways. keywords: bactrian camel milk, gut microbiota, rats, yogurt, soft cheese author biography kozhakhmetov samat, national laboratory astana, nazarbayev university, astana, z05h0p9, kazakhstan leading researcher of microbiome laboratory downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-12-11 issue vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com potential of multi-strain probiotics extract as an anti-inflammatory agent through inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor activity | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 1 (2023): january 2023 / research articles potential of multi-strain probiotics extract as an anti-inflammatory agent through inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor activity authors denny nyotohadi university of surabaya tjie kok university of surabaya doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i1.1033 abstract background: probiotics are reported to have a role for improving health conditions and reduce the risk of diseases associated with inflammation. however, how they affect inflammation has not been well studied. the inflammation occurs during the progression of chronic diseases could damage the normal function of cells, tissues, and organs. macrophage migration inhibitory factor (mif) is recognized as a cytokine playing a key role in the inflammation process. inhibition of its activity has been used by researchers as an approach for alleviating the inflammation. this study aims to evaluate the potential inhibitory effect of the extract of multi-strain probiotics consisting of lactobacillus casei emro 002, l. casei emro 213, l. plantarum emro 009, l. fermentum emro 211, l. rhamnosus emro 014, l. bulgaricus emro 212,and rhodopseudomonas palustris emro 201 on mif tautomerase activity, the reversibility, and the mechanism of inhibition. hence, the scope of this study is the evaluation of the functional characteristics of multi-strain probiotics extract on mif activity. methods:the multi-strain probiotics were centrifuged and the supernatant was separated from the pellet. the supernatant, i.e. the extract, was mixed with mif and analyzed for its inhibition effect on mif tautomerase activity. the reversibility of inhibition was evaluated by preincubation and dilution assays, and the mechanism of inhibition was determined by kinetic evaluation. results:the multi-strain probiotics extract inhibited mif tautomerase activity with an ic50 of 7.80 ± 1.96 mg/l. the preincubation and dilution assays showed that the inhibition is reversible, and the kinetic evaluation predicted that the extract components might bind to the enzyme active site and other site(s) of mif. conclusion:the findings show that the extract was able to inhibit mif tautomerase activity reversibly and its components might bind to the enzyme active site and other site(s) of mif suggest that the multi-strain probiotics extract has potential to be used as an anti-inflammatory agent for the treatment of chronic diseases associated with inflammation. keywords: multi-strain probiotics, anti-inflammatory, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, reversible inhibition, kinetic evaluation.  author biographies denny nyotohadi, university of surabaya faculty of biotechnology tjie kok, university of surabaya faculty of biotechnology downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-01-04 issue vol. 13 no. 1 (2023): january 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com blood amino acid dynamics after ingestion of chicken-derived peptides in healthy subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 / short report blood amino acid dynamics after ingestion of chicken-derived peptides in healthy subjects authors hang guo n/a akihiro yamamura n/a mikako sato n/a doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i7.926 abstract background: the rate of protein digestion and amino acid (aa) absorption determines the postprandial rise in circulating aa and modulates postprandial muscle protein synthesis (mps) rates. furthermore, it is necessary to consider the timing of protein ingestion, along with its quantity and quality, to regulate the blood aa concentration. chicken breasts are a popular food among athletes as they are a good source of animal protein, containing sufficient essential amino acids (eaas) and branched-chain amino acids (bcaas). low-molecular-weight chicken peptides (cpep), a novel protein supplement, were isolated from chicken breasts. blood aa dynamics, which have a significant influence on mps rates, were observed and compared with commercially available wheyand soy-derived protein supplements. objectives: we evaluated blood aa dynamics after cpep intake compared with whey protein (wp), and soy protein (sp). methods: three groups of six healthy adult men volunteers (age 39 ± 10 years) ingested 0.3 g/kg (protein/body weight) of cpep, wp, and sp. the concentrations of aa in the plasma were measured before and after the ingestion period and their kinetics were compared. results: cpep comprises free amino acids or peptides, and their average molecular weights are lower than those of wp and sp. the absorption dynamics of aa in the plasma were evaluated. after cpep intake, eaa and bcaa concentrations peaked at 30 min and levels of eaa and bcaa were higher than those after wp and sp ingestion at 15 and 30 min, respectively. conversely, the levels of total aa, eaa, and bcaa decreased 45 min after cpep intake compared with wp and sp intakes. in contrast, wp and sp showed similar blood aa dynamics with a peak at 60 min. conclusions: cpep is absorbed significantly faster than wp and sp, making it a useful option for efficient protein intake to maintain and increase muscle mass. keywords: chicken-derived peptides, blood amino acid dynamics, branched-chain amino acid, muscle protein synthesis downloads {abstract} {full article} published 2022-07-08 issue vol. 12 no. 7 (2022): july 2022 section short report license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of nut consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and coronary heart diseases | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 / review articles effects of nut consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and coronary heart diseases authors mohammad javad zibaeenezhad cardiovascular research center, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran zahra elyaspour cardiovascular research center, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5329-6667 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i11.1022 abstract background: intervention and epidemiological studies have shown that nut consumption has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, body mass index, and hyperlipidemia. the aim of this review is to investigate the effects of nut consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and coronary heart diseases. in addition, we investigated possible mediating mechanisms through which nuts act with health protective effects, which could have a preventive effect on cardiovascular risk factors and coronary artery diseases. method: we collected accredited international investigations, whether original, review, meta-analysis that published data in google scholar, pubmed/medline, wiley online library, web of science, science direct, scopus, and research gate databases. result:some human studies and most animal and laboratory studies reported that favorable effects of nut consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and diseases are through their nutrient profile including polyphenols, unsaturated fatty acid, vitamins, phytosterols, minerals, fibers, and protein. nut nutrient profile could act through reduction inflammation, inhibition oxidative stress, gut microbiota modification, improvement of endothelial function, modulating gene expression, mirna, adipokines, insulin secretion, lipid and glucose metabolism, and decreasing cholesterol absorption. conclusion:nuts have favorably acted on lipid profile, glucose homeostasis, vascular health, and weight control. furthermore, human clinical trials are needed to find the exact and most effective pathways by which nuts prevent or reduce cardiovascular risk factors. keywords: nut consumption, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, body mass index, hyperlipidemia author biographies mohammad javad zibaeenezhad, cardiovascular research center, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran cardiovascular research center, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran zahra elyaspour, cardiovascular research center, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran cardiovascular research center, shiraz university of medical sciences, shiraz, iran downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-11-17 issue vol. 12 no. 11 (2022): november 2022 section review articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-proliferative activity of yerba mate (ilex paraguariensis) aqueous extracts on human colorectal cancer cell lines | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 / research articles anti-proliferative activity of yerba mate (ilex paraguariensis) aqueous extracts on human colorectal cancer cell lines authors ali jason saleh department of biology, faculty of arts and sciences, university of balamand, lebanon leen othman department of biomedical sciences, faculty of medicine, university of balamand, lebanon michel elchoueiry department of biology, faculty of arts and sciences, university of balamand, lebanon rita ghanem department of biology, faculty of arts and sciences, university of balamand, lebanon samer bazzi department of biology, faculty of arts and sciences, university of balamand, lebanon marwan el-sabban department of anatomy, cell biology and physiological sciences, faculty of medicine, american university of beirut, lebanon roula m abdel-massih department of biology, faculty of arts and sciences, university of balamand, lebanon doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v11i10.828 abstract background: yerba mate, a popular, tea-like beverage prepared from the dried leaves of ilex paraguariensis, is widely consumed, and has several reported health benefits. compared with other herbal teas, the effect of yerba mate on human cells in the context of cancer has not been extensively studied. the method of extraction of bioactive compounds from the yerba mate leaves plays an important role in its effect on cancer cells.  methods: in this study we assessed the viability, anti-proliferative, and apoptotic effect of the aqueous yerba mate extract, prepared using the same conditions employed for consumption, on different human colorectal cancer cell lines (caco-2, ht-29, and hct116) and on the non-tumorigenic human colon epithelial cell line (ncm460). results: cytotoxicity of aqueous yerba mate extract was studied and a dose-dependent decrease in viability was observed in all the tested cell lines. at 24 hrs., viability decreased to 19.7% with caco-2 cells, 2.7% with hct116, and 8.4% with ht-29 cells at a concentration of 4.8 mg/ml of yerba mate extract. the effect was less prominent on the ncm460 cell line where the viability of cells at the same concentration was 65.2%. yerba mate extract also showed concentration-dependent anti-proliferative effects as determined by the wst-1 proliferation kit. ic50 values ranged between 0.22-0.69 mg/ml at 24 hr for cell lines tested. to study whether cell death was due to apoptosis, caco-2 cells were stained with annexin v-fitc assay and an increase in the percentage of late apoptotic caco-2 cells was observed with yerba mate extract at 0.6-4.8 mg/ml. cell cycle analysis using dna content by flow cytometry showed an increase in the percentage of caco-2 cells in the subg0/g1 phase and the g0/g1 phase after treatment with 2.4 mg/ml extract. collectively, our data suggest that yerba mate aqueous extract exhibits an anti-proliferative effect on tested cell lines by inducing apoptosis.   conclusions: yerba mate aqueous extract exhibits a strong anti-proliferative activity against adenocarcinoma cell lines studied and constitutes a promising functional food adjuvant to anti-cancer therapy. further work is needed to identify active components and mechanisms of action.  keywords: aqueous extract, yerba mate, anti-proliferative activity, adenocarcinoma cell lines   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2021-10-05 issue vol. 11 no. 10 (2021): october 2021 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in vivo evaluation of holocellulose and cellulose isolated from kumaizasa (sasa senanensis) powder on bowel movements in rats | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 / research articles in vivo evaluation of holocellulose and cellulose isolated from kumaizasa (sasa senanensis) powder on bowel movements in rats authors hideo hara ryusuke mifuru yoshiro ishikura ryo yokotani naobumi ishida clinical support corporation, ltd. takaaki hara shuji ozaw doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i3.1078 abstract background: kumaizasa (sasa senanensis rehder) is a representative natural plant growing in hokkaido, japan, and has a history of being used in herbal medicine and as a health food option. nishihira et. al. (2019) confirmed in a clinical trial that the kumaizasa dry powder had the effect of improving bowel movements of healthy volunteers. in this study, we evaluated the effect of the components of kumaizasa powder, like holocellulose (hemicellulose + cellulose) and cellulose, involved in the bowel movement of rats and tried to elucidate the role of each component. methods: male rats (slc:sd, weight 79~93 g) were administered kumaizasa powder (3000 mg/kg/day) orally, holocellulose (1500 mg/kg/day), cellulose (900mg /kg/day) or water using a stomach tube twice a day for 14 days. results: among the intervention groups (kumaizasa powder, holocellulose, cellulose group) and control group (water), no significant differences were observed with changes in body weight and food consumption. all the feces were normal, with one exception of watery feces on day 2 in the cellulose group. multigroup comparison by the tukey-kramer method showed that the dry weight of feces collected at day 14 in the kumaizasa powder group significantly increased as compared with that of the control group (p<0.01). this result confirmed that kumaizasa powder had the effect of increasing fecal amount. a paired t-test between each kumaizasa group and control group indicated that the cellulose increased the fecal dry weights and moisture content in feces, while the kumaizasa powder and the holocellulose increased only fecal dry weights. conclusion: it is shown that the holocellulose and cellulose of kumaizasa powder have the effect of increasing the bowel movement of rats by oral administration. it is also suggested that the cellulose increases the moisture content in the feces by swelling, while hemicellulose in the holocellulose acts as a prebiotic to regulate the moisture content in feces. keywords: kumaizasa, sasa senanensis rehder, hemicellulose, cellulose, holocellulose, bowel movements author biography naobumi ishida, clinical support corporation, ltd. received ph.d. degree from hokkaido university more than 35 experiences in pharmaceutical industries to invent and develop piperacillen/tazobactam more than 12 years experiences in functional food to submit many functional food with claim to japanese caa downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-03-31 issue vol. 13 no. 3 (2023): march 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com red panax ginseng root promotes neuronal plasticity in vitro and improves cognitive function in aged animals | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 / research articles red panax ginseng root promotes neuronal plasticity in vitro and improves cognitive function in aged animals authors camille lelong antoine mandoux nicolas houyoux sylvie defrere pierre-antoine mariage doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i8.1388 abstract background: cognitive function declines with aging, primarily due to reduced neuronal plasticity, decreased release of trophic factors, and neuronal stress. genetic and environmental factors have been shown to impact cognitive function. diets enriched with neuroactive ingredients have been proposed to support cognitive functions in humans. several neuroactive compounds, including ginsenosides, have been identified in panax ginseng. many studies show that the roots of this plant promote neuroprotection and neuroplasticity. objective: the aim of this study was to examine the impact of the red panax ginseng roots cultivated in an innovative vertical farming technology. the effects of the red panax ginseng roots were investigated to determine whether they could (1) support neuronal plasticity and neuronal survival during stress in vitro and (2) improve cognitive function (short-term memory) in vivo.  methods: an extract of the botalys red panax ginseng root powder was tested in vitro on primary hippocampal and cortical neurons, injured or not, with glutamate. its effects on the neuritogenesis and the synaptogenesis was investigated as well as its neuroprotective efficacy. moreover, the effect of the red panax ginseng root powder was investigated in vivo on the cognitive functions of aged animals. results: the results demonstrated that prolonged treatment of hippocampal neurons with the red panax ginseng extract significantly prompts synapse formation and neurite elongation in primary cultures of hippocampal neurons. in addition, the red panax ginseng extract protected neurons from glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in a primary culture of cortical neurons. in aging mice, oral administration of red panax ginseng root powder for 7 days significantly improved short-term memory deficit associated with aging. conclusion: altogether, these results indicate that red panax ginseng root promotes neuronal plasticity and synaptogenesis in in vitro models and improves short-term memory deficits in in vivo models of aging.  keywords: panax ginseng, neuronal plasticity, cognitive functions, in vitro, in vivo downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-08-08 issue vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the epigenetic impact of daily diet food choices on human health and chronic diseases | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 / research articles the epigenetic impact of daily diet food choices on human health and chronic diseases authors alexander h. yesayan massimiliano chetta bella g. babayan tigran a. yesayan syuzanna s. esoyan garegin g. sevoyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i10.1464 abstract nutrition, certain lifestyle behaviors (smoking, drug, alcohol addictions, etc.) and environment all contribute to cancer and other lines development. similarly, epigenetic pathways are known to occur at the intersection between the generally reversible effects of lifestyle or ecological factors and the irreversible alterations that explain numerous diseases. chemoprevention is the process of intervening in the epigenome to mitigate the detrimental effects of environmental factors or certain lifestyles before they lead to significant consequences. dna is permanently exposed to various substances modifying both its genetic and epigenetic configuration. it’s controlled by various agents (methyl donors, sophisticated enzymes, etc.). pesticides, artificial food additives, drugs and environmental toxins penetrating the placenta, can result in developmental program alterations and epigenetic changes in a fetus.  in nutrition context, the research revealed that several foods can alter epigenetic markers. some vitamins may alter dna methylation patterns and histone alterations, possibly influencing gene expression and disease risk. thus, dietary treatments may provide an epigenetic regulation, emphasizing nutrition role in preserving health and preventing illness via epigenetics keywords: human epigenetics, epigenetic regulation of diseases, daily food ration, healthy food downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-10-25 issue vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com lactic acid-fermented sake lees protect against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in mice | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 / research articles lactic acid-fermented sake lees protect against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in mice authors hiroshi suzuki kenichi watanabe somasundaram arumugam rejina afrin masahiko yamamoto yasuhiro matsubayashi hirohito sone doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i5.1341 abstract background: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (nash) is a common disease that may lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) through fatty liver and cirrhosis. although the prevalence of nash is increasing worldwide, there is no cure established thus far. sake lees are a by-product of sake refining, with a known liver-protecting effect. lactic acid-fermented sake lees (fsl) are a food produced by lactic acid fermentation and dealcoholization of sake lees. this product is commercially available in japan. although fsl has been associated with numerous functions, thus far, studies have not investigated its hepatoprotective effect. objectives: the objectives of this study are to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of lactic acid-fermented sake lees (fsl) in a mouse model of nash-hcc, to assess the impact of fsl supplementation on blood glucose levels in mice with nash, to analyze the expression of inflammatory markers in fsl-fed mice compared to controls, and to determine the overall efficacy of fsl in inhibiting the progression of nash. methods: for this study, we established a mouse model of nash-hcc. mice were placed on a high-fat diet supplemented with fsl from 10 to 14 weeks of age. we assessed the diet's efficacy in halting nash progression compared to a control group. results: the group fed with fsl exhibited a significant suppression in blood glucose levels and a notable inhibition of nash progression compared to the control group. protein analysis revealed a reduction in the expression of inflammatory markers in the fsl-fed group compared to controls. conclusion: ingestion of fsl may exert anti-inflammatory and blood glucose-lowering effects and inhibit nash progression. keywords: anti-inflammation, blood glucose, fatty liver, sake lees downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-05-18 issue vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of incorporating plant-based quercetin on physicochemical properties, consumer acceptability and sensory profiling of nutrition bars | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 / research articles effect of incorporating plant-based quercetin on physicochemical properties, consumer acceptability and sensory profiling of nutrition bars authors uma bansal research scholar (ph.d), dept. of food technology, jiwaji university, madhya pradesh, india aastha bhardwaj lecturer, dept. of food technology, jamia hamdard new delhi, india som nath singh scientist ‘f”, drdo defence institute of physiology and allied sciences (dipas), delhi, india sucheta khubber scientist ii, general mills, mumbai, india nitya sharma post-doctoral fellow, centre for rural development & technology, indian institute of technology (iit), new delhi, india vasudha bansal government home science college, sector-10, affiliated to panjab university, chandigarh, india doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i3.888 abstract abstract background: plant-based quercetin is usually produced using fruit and vegetable wastes and is sold in the market in powdered form. since it is already used as a supplement in various foods, therefore, a study was conducted to develop calorie rich nutrition bars using plant-based quercetin, that may serve as a promising functional snack with high antioxidant property for general consumption by teenagers, adults, athletes and sports persons. to surmise, this study deals with the development of a novel nutrition bar by utilizing a plant byproduct. methods: plant based pure quercetin extract powder (98% premium grade) was procured from herbadiet, arkure health care, rohtak, haryana (india). other materials used were: quinoa (chenopodium quinoa) (pro nature organic foods pvt. ltd.); instant white oats (kellogg’s india pvt. ltd., new delhi); canola oil (jivo wellness pvt. ltd.); jaggery (village product industries); nutscomprising almond, cashew, walnut, roasted & salted pistachios (happilo international pvt. ltd.). objective: the study was carried out in order to formulate calorie and nutrient rich bars for all the age-groups with a prime focus on antioxidant-quercetin.  results: quercetin-based nutrition bar was developed with different levels of quercetin (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 mg 100g-1), in addition to other ingredients including oats, quinoa, nuts, canola oil and jaggery. addition of quercetin showed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) change on its water activity, color and textural attributes. with the increase in the quercetin content, a significant decrease in the water activity and increase in the lightness (l*) and hardness values of nutrition bar samples was observed. the quercetin enriched nutrition bars also showed an increase in total phenolic content as well as antioxidant capacity, as assessed by dpph radical scavenging activity. evaluation of overall acceptability and sensory profiling was done for all samples and the one with 60 mg 100g-1 quercetinqualified as the best in sensorial attributes. the main finding: the results revealed that quercetin-based nutrition bar can be a palatable and promising functional food with high antioxidant property. author biographies uma bansal, research scholar (ph.d), dept. of food technology, jiwaji university, madhya pradesh, india  dept. of food technology, jiwaji university, madhya pradesh, india aastha bhardwaj, lecturer, dept. of food technology, jamia hamdard new delhi, india  dept. of food technology, jamia hamdard new delhi, india som nath singh, scientist ‘f”, drdo defence institute of physiology and allied sciences (dipas), delhi, india drdo defence institute of physiology and allied sciences (dipas), delhi, india sucheta khubber, scientist ii, general mills, mumbai, india  general mills, mumbai, india nitya sharma, post-doctoral fellow, centre for rural development & technology, indian institute of technology (iit), new delhi, india  centre for rural development & technology, indian institute of technology (iit), new delhi, india vasudha bansal, government home science college, sector-10, affiliated to panjab university, chandigarh, india subject areas are food science and nutrition, food processing, non-thermal processing, clinical nutrition downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2022-03-04 issue vol. 12 no. 3 (2022): march 2022 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com safety and efficacy study of lutein (vitalutein®) in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparative study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 / research articles safety and efficacy study of lutein (vitalutein®) in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparative study authors hyunjin lee takayuki itano faizal mohamed naoko suzuki tsuyoshi takara takahiro yamada doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i5.1605 abstract background: lutein is a natural pigment with antioxidant properties found in both the eye's lens and macula. daily exposure to certain wavelengths of light -particularly blue and infrared – can increase the eyes' vulnerability to oxidative damage caused by free radicals. however, lutein’s antioxidant properties help protect cells from oxidative damage.  objective: this study aimed to evaluate the reduction of oxidative stress in tears resulting from daily intake of vitalutein®, within healthy japanese adults. the safety of oral vitalutein® intake was also assessed. methods: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study was conducted. thirty-one healthy japanese adults were randomized to either the placebo or vitalutein® group. participants were enrolled based on levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-ohdg) in their tears. fifteen adults were assigned to the vitalutein® group and sixteen to the placebo group. after 8-weeks, all subjects were evaluated for oxidative stress, macular pigment optical density, and dry eye symptoms. safety assessments included urinalysis and blood tests. results: no adverse events were attributed to the test food during the study period. levels of 8-ohdg were significantly reduced at week 8 compared to baseline in the vitalutein® group. additionally, participants with prolonged visual display terminal (vdt) use maintained higher macular pigment optical density (mpod) levels compared to the placebo group. novelty: this randomized controlled trial uniquely demonstrates the safety of vitalutein® supplementation in healthy japanese adults. this study provides preliminary evidence suggesting its potential to reduce tear oxidative stress (8-ohdg) and maintain macular pigment optical density (mpod), particularly in individuals with prolonged extended vdt usage. conclusions: these results suggest that continuous ingestion of vitalutein® supplements may reduce oxidative stress and maintain macular pigment. the product has also been proven safe in adult, human subjects.  keywords: vitalutein®, oxidative stress, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine(8-ohdg), visual display terminal (vdt), macular pigment density (mpod).(umin id: umin000014590) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-05-14 issue vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction using box-behnken design, method validation, and analysis of phytochemicals from drying treatments in the application of etlingera elatior inflorescence | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 / research articles optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction using box-behnken design, method validation, and analysis of phytochemicals from drying treatments in the application of etlingera elatior inflorescence authors amila firdhauzi chutha takahashi yupanqui widiastuti setyaningsih vatcharee seechamnanturakit doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i5.1355 abstract background: etlingera elatior inflorescence, a potential source for herbal tea, undergoes a drying process that could enhance the active ingredients and health benefits. this study introduces the use of ultrasound-assisted extraction (uae) to improve conventional extraction and increase the yield of phytochemicals, thereby presenting a novel approach to functional foods and nutrition.  objective: this study aims to optimize the uae method using the box-behnken design (bbd), a statistical experimental design widely used in the field of functional foods and nutrition. the determination of phytochemicals was validated using the optimized uae. chlorogenic acid from the extract was analyzed using hplc-dad and compared with that from indonesia. according to the development of herbal tea, the phytochemical contents and inhibition of dpph scavenging antioxidant activity were examined for the three drying treatments compared to freeze-drying.  methods: box-behnken design (bbd) was used to optimize the condition of uae with three variables: solvent concentrations (70%, 85%, 100%), solid-to-solvent ratios (1:20, 1:15, 1:10), and temperatures (30°c, 50°c, 70°c). the tpcs and tfcs of the ethanol extract were analyzed as observed responses. repeatability precision (%cv) and recovery were validated for the optimized uae. hplc-dad analyzed the chlorogenic acid of the extract and compared it to the thai e. elatior extract and indonesia. in applying e. elatior tea, phytochemical contents, and dpph∙, scavenging antioxidant activity was examined for three drying treatments and compared to the freeze-drying treatment. results: the suggested condition of optimized uae extraction was 70% ethanol, 50°c, and a 1:20 solid-to-solvent ratio. %repeatability precision of tpcs and tfcs for the extract was significantly <5%, and %recovery >90%. freeze-drying and cabinet-drying treatments had significantly higher tpcs than others. especially in freeze-drying treatment, the tfcs of the extract from indonesia were significantly greater than those in thailand (p<0.05). for dpph∙ antioxidant activity, all treatments except freeze-drying of the extracts from indonesia had higher inhibition of dpph∙ antioxidant activity than those from thailand. conclusion: the optimized uae extraction method was validated with high precision and accuracy. all drying treatments influenced the phytochemical contents and inhibition of dpph  antioxidant activity in the inflorescences of both thailand and indonesia.  keywords: box-behnken design, drying treatment, tea, method validation, phenolic. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-05-17 issue vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com strategic food reserves storage, safety and risk minimization: problems and perspectives | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 / research articles strategic food reserves storage, safety and risk minimization: problems and perspectives authors samvel m. shahinyan ani badasyan bella g. babayan marina a. melkumyan tigran a. yesayan alexander h. yesayan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i8.1410 abstract background: the hunger problem is a significant issue arising from global challenges in the 21st century. it is a consequence of inadequate food safety and poor strategic food storage. this makes innovations and improvements in these areas particularly crucial, especially for developing countries and regions affected by military conflicts and natural disasters.  objectives: we aimed to study carbonate limestone caves as potentially safe locations for constructing strategic food storage facilities. results: the preliminary results from magellan cave (magill cave) in the areni region of the republic of armenia indicate that the cave has suitable conditions for use as a potential site for strategic food storage, particularly for cereal grains. biological studies have proved the absence of mesophilic microbes in rock minerals and in soil samples from its inner space. additionally, psychrophilic microbes, thermophilic algae, and representatives of cyanobionta were found in waters that meet underground hot springs. chemical analyses revealed no toxic compounds in the rock minerals, poisonous gases, or radon accumulation. the radiation levels were also found to be safe. conclusions: physical, chemical, and biological research have demonstrated the absence of risk factors for health and food safety in magellan cave. no spoilage microbes or human pathogenic bacteria were found. additionally, no fungi were detected. the results suggest that this cave could be a promising location for constructing underground food storage for strategic reserves. keywords: magellan cave (magill cave), underground constructions, food strategic reserve storage, biological safety, spoilage, psychrophilic microbes downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-08-30 issue vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com genetic changes in common dandelion ( taraxacum officinale ) induced by high concentrations of heavy metals in soil | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / research articles genetic changes in common dandelion (taraxacum officinale) induced by high concentrations of heavy metals in soil authors bella babayan alexander yesayan garegin sevoyan tigran yesayan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1753 abstract background: heavy metal contamination poses a significant environmental threat in developing regions such as the syunik province of armenia, where agricultural lands coexist with metal mining operations. heavy metals are genotoxic, therefore, the study of genetic changes in wild and cultivated edible plants here is essential for evaluating the safety of traditional plant-based foods (“zhengyal,” honey, herbal teas, etc.). taraxacum officinale (dandelion) is notable for its use in traditional diets and the accumulation of micronutrients. thus, it’s prospective for both environmental monitoring and functional food development. context and purpose of this study: the relation between heavy metal contamination of environment and dna polymorphisms of t. officinale from syunik, armenia was studied. results: significant genetic variation was observed among the samples, with the highest polymorphism (95.46%) in artsvanik village and the lowest (73.24%) in ttujur district. increased soil concentrations of fe and mn were correlated with greater dna polymorphism, suggesting a higher mutation rate in contaminated areas. these results point to a direct relationship between heavy metal exposure and genome instability in dandelion plants. conclusions: significant genetic changes were observed in samples from all surveyed locations in syunik. t. officinale is able to accumulate heavy metals and may be used in ecotoxicological and remediation research as bio-indicator. also, it could be recommended for further research as potential source for bioactive supplements and functional foods elaboration with diuretic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and immunomodulatory properties. keywords: taraxacum officinale, food safety, heavy metals, soil contamination, pcr, polymorphism downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-09-16 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antiviral activity of nigella sativa oil against two sars-cov-2surrogates in vitro as a dietary product | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 9 (2024): september 2024 / research articles antiviral activity of nigella sativa oil against two sars-cov-2surrogates in vitro as a dietary product authors xiuping jiang jinge huang jingxue wang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i9.1411 abstract background: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (sars-cov-2) is primarily transmitted via aerosol and droplets, but environmental surfaces or potentially contaminated foods may contribute to further viral transmission. nigella sativa seed (black cumin seed) oil possesses various biological activities against bacteria, fungi, parasites, or viruses. objectives: this study aimed to explore black cumin seed oil (bso) with anti-sars-cov-2 activities using bovine coronavirus (bcov) and human coronavirus (hcov) oc43 as surrogates. methods and results: bso was tested at 1-100 ml/l concentrations for cytotoxicity towards human rectal tumor (hrt-18g) cells and 0.1-10 ml/l for efficacy against bcov and hcov oc43 in suspension. two coronaviruses were separately mixed with bso suspension and incubated for various times (0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min) at 4, 23, and 37°c. the virus titer reduction was determined by median tissue culture infectious dose (tcid50) assay with hrt-18g cells as the host. bso concentrations of 1-20 ml/l exhibited low cytotoxicity (<10%) towards hrt-18g cells. the inactivation of coronaviruses by bso was concentration-, temperature-, and exposure time-dependent. at 37°c, bso reduced 2.0 logs of bcov and 3.0 logs of hcov oc43 in 60 min, respectively. specifically, half maximal effective concentration (ec50) of bso at 4, 23, and 37°c after the 1-h exposure was 4.28, 3.06, and 0.87 ml/l against bcov, respectively, and 0.61, 0.61 and 0.48 ml/l against hcov oc43, respectively. moreover, bso didn’t affect the attachment of bcov and hcov oc43 into host cells. conclusion: our findings on the inhibition activity of bso against sars-cov-2 surrogates suggested the potential use of this natural product in mitigating sars-cov-2 infection. our results also suggest that hcov oc43 may be a more appropriate surrogate for sars-cov-2 to screen antiviral dietary products. keywords: nigella sativa, sars-cov-2 surrogates, antiviral activity, quantitative suspension test, dietary supplement downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-09-16 issue vol. 14 no. 9 (2024): september 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com bovine colostrum antibodies against human viral antigens | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 / research articles bovine colostrum antibodies against human viral antigens authors darya shlykova maria yurkova nikolay burachevskii sergey mayzel alexey fedorov doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i4.1592 abstract background: bovine colostrum (bc) is the first milk produced by a cow postpartum. it is a unique substance rich in antibodies that protects the body against bacterial and viral pathogens. bc significantly contributes to human nutrition and health, as its effectiveness against certain human viruses is well-studied. locally, cows are vaccinated with a polyvalent inactivated vaccine against viral diarrhea, bovine escherichiosis, bovine rotavirus (brov), and bovine coronavirus (bcov). bc contains high levels of antibodies against these antigens, which provide advanced immune protection to the body.  methods: the study's goal was to determine whether bc fractions from cows contain antibodies with cross-reactivity against recombinant human proteins represented by receptor-binding domain (rbd) and nucleocapsid (np) proteins of various strains of human sars-cov-2 coronavirus, including the wuhan, lambda, mu, and omicron variants. this study was conducted using the elisa method.  results: specific antibodies against brov and bcov were detected in significant amounts. the study found that antibodies against all the variants of human coronavirus sars-cov-2 studied were present in the bc evaluated. furthermore, antibodies produced from the rotateq vaccine, containing human and bovine hybrid rotavirus strains, were present. conclusions: detection of antibodies in the early milk of cows indicates a potential of bc as a food supplement for some human viral diseases due to the presence of conserved epitopes shared by human and bovine rotaviruses and coronaviruses. keywords: bovine colostrum, antibodies, heterologous immune response, antigens, functional food, antigen downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-04-18 issue vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com assessment of the quality of polygonati odorait rhizoma powder prepared by different processes and investigation of its additive properties in steamed buns | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 / research articles assessment of the quality of polygonati odorait rhizoma powder prepared by different processes and investigation of its additive properties in steamed buns authors yao xu huimin li fan jia yuhang wu jiani jiang hui zheng tao zheng kai he yong yang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i1.1517 abstract background: polygonati odorait rhizoma(po) is the dried rhizome of polygonatum odoratum (mill.) druce, which is a popular traditional health food ingredient in china and southeast asia. strips and sheets are the main traditional processing products of po, which limit the health application. powder milling technology is helpful to improve the application value and comprehensive utilization of po.  objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different processing methods on the physicochemical properties of po powders, especially enzymatically modified po powder (em). in addition, the study investigated the additive properties of po powder in steamed buns. methods: in this study, four different po powders were prepared using different processes named enzyme modified po powder (em), vacuum microwave-dried po powder (vm), vacuum freeze-dried po powder (vf), and traditionally processed po powder (tp). comparison of the physical properties, chemical composition and inhibitory activity against α-amylase of four different po powders. the effects of the addition of the four po powders on the quality of steamed buns were also compared. results: the results showed that the content of some functional components such as total saponin, total polysaccharide and total polyphenol, and the total flavonoid content of em increased significantly by 74%, 127.8%, 91.2% and 125.4%, respectively, compared with tp. among the steamed buns with po powder added, the steamed buns with em added had the best sensory score, ageing characteristics and fermentation characteristics. all four po powders reduced the reducing sugar content (rsc) of the steamed buns to different extents compared to the blank steamed buns. in particular, em reduced the rsc of the steamed buns by 27.2% compared to the blank group. conclusion: overall, complex enzymatic digestion could effectively improve the functional quality and application of po powder. em powder showed the best performance in terms of functional quality and additive properties of steamed buns. novelty: this experiment was the first to compare the physical properties and functional content of po powders in different processing methods. it was found that enzymatic modification could effectively improve the physical properties and functional content of po powders. the sensory evaluation of steamed bread can be improved by po powders to steamed bread. keywords: polygonati oodrait rhizoma powder, steamed buns, enzymatic modification, physicochemical properties, quality characteristics downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-01-16 issue vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com clove bud extract inhibits glycation of bovine serum albumin: insights from in vitro and molecular dynamics simulation analysis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles clove bud extract inhibits glycation of bovine serum albumin: insights from in vitro and molecular dynamics simulation analysis authors saleh a. almatroodi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1762 abstract background: glycation is a non-enzymatic reaction between amino groups within proteins and reducing sugars, leading to advanced glycation end products (ages). ages can induce protein cross-linking and accumulate in various tissues. their buildup contributes to complications associated with chronic disease. although antiglycation agents like aminoguanidine are well documented, there is a significant need for more effective age inhibitors to address various pathogeneses and complications. syzygium aromaticum, commonly known as clove, has several medicinal properties, including antimicrobial and antioxidant effects that contribute to reduced oxidative stress. however, its impact on glycation and related biochemical parameters has not been thoroughly investigated.  objectives: this study aims to evaluate the impact of clove bud extract on bsa glycation and elucidate its mechanism of action through molecular simulations. methods: the antiglycation effects of clove bud extract were evaluated by quantifying glycation-induced changes in bsa structure and aggregation following glucose-mediated glycation and subsequent treatment with varying extract concentrations. uv spectroscopy and fluorescence-based assays (congo red and thioflavin t) were used to assess these changes. at the same time, molecular docking and dynamics simulations explored the underlying molecular interactions between clove bud components and bsa. results: the results demonstrated that clove bud extract at a 600 µg/ml concentration significantly decreased the browning intensity by 54.38%. when combined with glycated bsa, the extract reduced the aggregation index and mitigated glycation-induced alterations in bsa's secondary structure, indicating its potential to inhibit glycation and prevent age formation. increasing the dosage of clove bud extract resulted in a decrease in thioflavin t-specific fluorescence in the samples. molecular docking studies revealed several compounds within the clove extract interact with glycation-prone residues on bsa, specifically lysine and arginine. molecular simulation studies further confirmed that all tested compounds form stable complexes with bsa when simulated under aqueous conditions, which mirror physiological environments.  novelty of the study: this study presents novel findings on the inhibitory effects of clove bud extract on the glycation process of bovine serum albumin (bsa), demonstrating its potential as a natural inhibitor of glycation. conclusion: these findings underscore the potential of clove bud as a natural inhibitor of glycation and glycation-induced protein aggregation. keywords: clove; glycation; oxidative stress, aggregation; bsa; molecular docking; molecular dynamics simulation, pathogenesis. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-10 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com new generation of functional yogurts fermented with probiotic lactic acid bacteria isolated from human milk | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 / research articles new generation of functional yogurts fermented with probiotic lactic acid bacteria isolated from human milk authors lusine danielyan hrachya hovhannisyan lusine baghdasaryan andranik barseghyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i4.1347 abstract background: the cultures used in the production of "bio-yoghurts" typically consist of a blend of traditional yogurt starters, such as s. thermophilus and l. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, along with probiotics like l. acidophilus, l. casei, l. reuteri, and bifidobacterium spp. these probiotics, although beneficial, face challenges thriving in milk due to its short fermentation time (4–5 hours). the rapid acidification caused by the starter’s results in probiotic levels dropping below the "therapeutic minimum" during the intended refrigerated shelf life of the product. a potential solution to this issue lies in leveraging lactic acid bacteria isolated from the human milk which possess both robust probiotic characteristics and starter properties. incorporating such strains in yogurt starter could address the acidity imbalance and contribute to maintaining optimal probiotic levels throughout the refrigerated shelf life of the product. objective: this research aims to develop a new generation of sustainable functional yoghurts suitable for consumers of all ages using as starters predominant probiotic lactic acid bacteria isolated from the breast milk of healthy women. results: this study marks the first implementation of the critical dilution culture method in sterile cow milk for the selection of predominant lactic acid bacteria (labs) from women's breast milk. remarkably, all samples yielded lab capable of independently fermenting milk. although breast milk is a good medium for the growth of residential lactic acid bacteria, it never coagulates due to low concentration of caseins. the isolated strains, identified as belonging to the species l. delbrueckii subsp. lactis, l. fermentum, l. casei subsp. sakei, streptococcus thermophiles and lactococcus lactis, exhibited probiotic and adaptive properties essential for gut colonization in humans. utilizing symbiotic lab starters were created functional yogurts with heightened technological, physicochemical, and sensory characteristics.  conclusions: yogurts fermented using human milk labs are safe and can be recommended as a functional dairy food, for pregnant women as well as for pre-term and full-term infants as a substitute/supplement for mother's milk. moreover, these labs can be included in infant formulas or used in pre-treatment of infant formula milk to improve its nutritional value and safety. keywords: breast milk, lactic acid bacteria, probiotic, milk fermentation, functional yogurt downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-04-05 issue vol. 14 no. 4 (2024): april 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effects of cyclodextran on plaque accumulation in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparison study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 / research articles the effects of cyclodextran on plaque accumulation in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparison study authors hikaru teshima hikaru kato yasuyuki nakamura naoko suzuki masahiko horiuchi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i2.1324 abstract background: cyclo-isomalto-oligosaccharides (ci) have been reported to inhibit glucosyltransferases (gtf) in vitro. gtf is an enzyme related to oral plaque synthesis. however, there are few clinical studies to investigate the effect of ci on oral plaque via inhibiting gtf activity. objective: the purpose of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of consuming ci-dextran mix on plaque accumulation in healthy japanese adults. methods: this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparison study was conducted from may 26, 2022, to september 16, 2022. individuals who agreed to participate in the study were randomly assigned to the ci-dextran mix group with 60 mg/day (n = 22), the ci-dextran mix group with 600 mg/day (n = 11), or the placebo group (n = 22). the intervention period was three days, and the outcome of this study was the plaque index (pli), an indicator of plaque accumulation.  results: our results showed that the ci-dextran mix group (600mg/day) had significantly lower post-intervention pli values than the placebo group in a full analysis set (fas). in individuals identified as prone to plaque accumulation among the fas, both ci-dextran mix groups showed significantly lower pli values than the placebo group. no adverse events were observed during the study period, and consumption of the test food under the study conditions was considered safe. conclusions: our results clearly indicated that a high dose of ci-dextran mix (600 mg/day) could significantly reduce plaque formation in healthy japanese adults, while a marginal reduction was noted for the group taking a low dose (60 mg/day). in particular, intake of both doses (ci-dextran mix 60 mg/day and 600 mg/day) in individuals who were prone to plaque accumulation, could significantly inhibit plaque formation. keywords: ci-dextran mix, cyclodextran, plaque inhibition, functional carbohydrates, isomaltooligosaccharide, randomized controlled trial trial registration: umin000047901. foundation: nissin sugar co., ltd. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-02-27 issue vol. 14 no. 2 (2024): february 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of the culture liquid of antarctic yeast nadsoniella nigra on rooting, growth, and biochemical composition of in vitro grapevine ( vitis vinifera l.), cultivar ' karmrahyut ' | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles effect of the culture liquid of antarctic yeast nadsoniella nigra on rooting, growth, and biochemical composition of in vitro grapevine (vitis vinifera l.), cultivar 'karmrahyut' authors gayane melyan aghvan sahakyan andranik barseghyan kima dangyan narek sahakyan meruzhan zadayan yuri martirosyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i10.1474 abstract background: grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) is a globally significant fruit crop known for its nutritional and health benefits, including its role in preventing chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders. the bioactive compounds in grapes contribute to these benefits. bioactive content changes due to grapevine variety and environmental conditions necessitate ongoing research. in vitro propagation provides a controlled environment for grapevine cultivation, minimizing disease risk and ensuring consistent quality. this study investigates the potential of nadsoniella nigra (nn), an antarctic yeast, as a natural alternative to synthetic auxins like indole-3-butyric acid (iba) in grapevine micro cutting propagation. objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of the culture liquid of nn as a natural alternative to auxin-class hormones, using iba as an example, for promoting rooting in grapevine microcuttings and to assess its impact on chlorophyll content, vitamin c levels, and sugar concentrations. materials and methods: in vitro propagation of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivar 'karmarhyt' was performed using half-strength woody plant medium (wpm). nn culture liquid was prepared at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 ml/l, and iba was used at equivalent concentrations. microcuttings were cultured on media supplemented with these treatments, with a control group maintained without growth regulators. rooting was evaluated after 4 weeks by measuring rooting percentage, number of roots per shoot, and root length. chlorophyll a (chl a) and chlorophyll b (chl b) levels, vitamin c content, and sugar concentrations were assessed. statistical analysis was performed using standard error and t-tests. results: rooting performance of grapevine microcuttings varied with treatment. nn culture liquid promoted rooting in a dose-dependent manner, with the highest values observed at 2.0 ml/l (97.0% rooting, 7.2 roots, 13.8 cm root length). iba treatment resulted in peak rooting at 1.0 mg/l (100% rooting) but decreased at higher concentrations, accompanied by callus formation. chlorophyll content was higher in nn culture liquid treated microcuttings, with a maximum total chlorophyll of 2.20 mg/g at 2.0 mg/l, compared to a peak of 2.05 mg/g in iba-treated microcuttings at 1.0 mg/l. sugar and vitamin c content increased with nn culture liquid concentrations, whereas iba showed a less consistent effect. conclusion: nn culture liquid was an effective natural alternative to iba for promoting rooting in grapevine microcuttings. it improved rooting efficiency, chlorophyll content, and increased sugar and vitamin c levels, while iba led to growth inhibition and callus formation at higher concentrations. nn culture liquid demonstrated consistent benefits, suggesting potential for sustainable viticulture. as a result of the conducted research, it was established that the mixture of secondary metabolites contained in the liquid culture medium of nn possesses high biological activity and can be recommended for use in plant biotechnology in vitro to promote the growth of both underground and above-ground parts. future research could explore its use in propagating other plant species. keywords: ´karmrahyut´, grapevine, culture liquid of nadsoniella nigra. in vitro propagation, functional foods downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-01 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the possible anti-inflammatory properties of hydro-ethanolic extract of oregano | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 / research articles the possible anti-inflammatory properties of hydro-ethanolic extract of oregano authors armenuhi moghrovyan mikayel ginovyan nikolay avtandilyan lilya parseghyan armen voskanyan naira sahakyan anna darbinyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i10.1211 abstract backgrounds: plant compounds are of great value due to their analgesic, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and other characteristics. this study aimed to examine the chemical composition and impact of the origanum vulgare hydro-ethanolic extract on nociceptive behavior and anti-inflammatory properties in in vivo mice models. methods: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques were employed to determine the major active phytochemicals of the extract. the effects of the extract on nociceptive reactions were evaluated using formalin and hot plate tests, while the anti-inflammatory effect was determined using the carrageenan test. the methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium assay was applied to analyze growth-inhibiting properties of the extract on mcf-7 breast cancer cells. results: various flavonoids and organic acids were identified in o. vulgare hydro-ethanolic extract. the extract possessed low cytotoxicity on mcf-7 cells as only 1 mg/ml or higher concentrations of the extract induced considerable growth inhibition. the formalin and hot plate tests demonstrated some sensitizing effects of the investigated extract (5 mg/kg) on mice. moreover, the carrageenan test revealed pronounced anti-inflammatory properties of the o. vulgare extract. conclusion: the potent biological activity of the wild oregano herb extract makes it a promising source for the development of medicinal preparations.  keywords: nociceptive behavior, anti-inflammatory effect, oregano, flavonoids, chemical composition, cytotoxicity, in vivo mice models. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-10-05 issue vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com probiotic yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii : properties and peculiarities of use in functional foods development | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 / review articles probiotic yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii: properties and peculiarities of use in functional foods development authors dmitrii manshin maria kuntsova alexey shilenko anastasia andreeva doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i5.1482 abstract the unconscious human consumption of probiotic microorganisms due to fermented foods in the daily diet has lasted for many centuries. meanwhile, the transition to the conscious use of probiotic biopotential in a healthy diet dates back only to the beginning of the previous century. it is associated with the development of the concept of functional food. the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, discovered in the 1920s, is the only eukaryotic probiotic microorganism registered. the probiotic activity of saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii is determined by antimicrobial, antitoxin, immune modulation, and trophic effects. these different types of activities, in their turn, have provided a wide range of applications of this yeast culture to treat various types of diarrheas; clostridium difficile infection; inflammatory bowel diseases; irritable bowel syndrome; ulcerative colitis; crohn’s disease; sepsis; acne; and vaginal candidiasis. in addition to the application of saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii in medical practice, it becomes possible to incorporate the microorganism into food products, which can impart them functional, namely, probiotic properties, thus enhancing their biological activity and contributing unique sensory characteristics to final products in the case of fermented ones. this review aims to systematize the data concerning the properties of the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii and its application in the functional food development.  keywords: saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, probiotics, functional food, fermented foods, yeast downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-05-23 issue vol. 15 no. 5 (2025): may 2025 section review articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the safety of animal-derived food products in areas of technogenic pollution | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 / research articles the safety of animal-derived food products in areas of technogenic pollution authors garegin g. sevoyan seyran h. minasyan tigran a. yesayan bella g. babayan syuzanna s. avetisyan alexander h. yesayan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i10.1484 abstract background: food safety has been a concern since ancient times. in the 21st century, technogenic pollution from harmful natural and synthetic chemicals poses a significant threat to food safety. these substances can enter the various consumption chains and to be transmitted from organism to organism, ultimately reaching the human body through both animal-sourced and plant-sourced food products. animal-sourced food is the main source of protein and essential compounds. therefore, assessing the safety of animal-sourced food products, which are produced and consumed by populations in areas of technogenic pollution (such as factory surroundings and military conflict zones) is crucial. objectives: the primary goal of this research was to study the contamination of animal-sourced foods (eggs and hen) produced in urban area of one of regions of armenia’s regions, which has a heavy legacy of industrial pollution.  context and purpose of this study: this study aimed to assess and compare the concentrations of alkaline, alkaline-earth and transition elements, including heavy metals, in common animal-sourced food products produced in kapan city, armenia, and syunik village, which borders kapan city. to achieve this, poultry (hen) and egg samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrophotometry (icp-ms) to detect the following heavy metals: li; na; mg; al; k; ca; ti; v; cr; fe; mn; co; ni; cu; zn; as; se; sr; mo; cd; sn; sb; ba and pb. results: the concentrations of heavy metals were elevated in all animal-sourced food samples from syunik village and kaplan city. similarly, general concentrations of alkaline and alkaline-earth metals were also increased. comparative analysis revealed that concentrations of all studied elements were lower in syunik village than in kaplan city. notably, all detected levels were below the maximum permissible concentrations (mpc).  conclusions: elevated concentrations of heavy metals were observed in all studied egg and hen samples from syunik village and kapan city. this increase is likely attributed to the mining industry development in the syunik region. although the detected levels are below the maximum permissible concentrations established by the world health organization (who), continuous monitoring of heavy metal concentrations in this area is recommended to mitigate potential health risks associated with chronic consumption of locally produced eggs.  keywords: food safety, animal-sourced food, heavy metals, technogenic pollution, remediation. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-10-11 issue vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of lacticaseibacillus paracasei 327 intake on the intestinal environment in healthy adult japanese: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 / research articles effects of lacticaseibacillus paracasei 327 intake on the intestinal environment in healthy adult japanese: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial authors yoshie senda-sugimoto toshihiro mihara yuki higuchi kimiko uchiyama tsuyoshi takara hajime takahashi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i3.1336 abstract background: lacticaseibacillus paracasei 327 (l. paracasei 327) is a lactic acid bacteria isolated from brown rice. it has been reported that sterilized l. paracasei 327 improves bowel movement. given the reported relationship between intestinal microbiota and bowel movement, we hypothesized that l. paracasei 327 also improves the intestinal environment through its involvement in fluctuations in the composition of the intestinal microbiota. objective: the purpose of this study was to verify the effects of the consumption of food containing sterilized l. paracasei 327 on the intestinal environment in healthy japanese adults. methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial was conducted in 110 healthy adults aged 20 to 64 years with a defecation frequency of three to five times per week. participants were divided into two groups, one receiving 25 mg (approximately 5x1010 bacteria) of sterile l. paracasei 327 once daily for two weeks (55 participants) and other receiving placebo for two weeks (55 participants), to test its effect on the intestinal environment. results: intestinal microbiota analysis showed that l. paracasei 327 ingestion resulted in a trend towards an increase in bacteroides and a significant decrease in clostridium cluster iv in each taxonomic group compared to the placebo group. in addition, for each operational taxonomic units (otus), bacteroides_otu_469 and clostridium subcluster xiva_otu_754 were significantly increased, and clostridium cluster ix, akkermansia_otu_110 tended to increase, while clostridium cluster iv_otu_749 significantly decreased. furthermore, defecation days and defecation frequency increased significantly. conclusion: the presumptive species of bacteria in the taxonomic group and otus increased by l. paracasei 327 ingestion included short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria. in addition, clostridium cluster iv_otu_749, which was reduced by l. paracasei 327 ingestion, may also be involved in the production of putrefactive products in the intestine. therefore, these findings suggest that l. paracasei 327 ingestion improves the intestinal environment by increasing short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, suppressing putrefactive-producing bacteria, and improving defecation. trial registration: umin000049859 (umin-ctr) keywords: lactic acid bacteria; postbiotics; lacticaseibacillus paracasei 327; intestinal microbiota; defecation; clinical trial downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-03-19 issue vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com synbiotic-supplemented organic formula enhances infant gut health: a randomized controlled trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 2 (2025): february 2025 / research articles synbiotic-supplemented organic formula enhances infant gut health: a randomized controlled trial authors xiaoyang sheng zhendong gu xuelian li jiayi ni doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i2.1555 abstract background: background: infant gut health is crucial for long-term well-being, with early microbial colonization playing a pivotal role. organic infant formulas are increasingly sought after, and synbiotics, combining prebiotics and probiotics, have shown promise in promoting beneficial gut microbiota. this randomized controlled trial investigates the impact of a synbiotic-supplemented organic formula on infant gut health. objective: this study conducted a dual-center, double-blind, randomized, parallel-controlled trial to evaluate the effects of two cow's milk-based formulas—organic protein milk and organic protein milk with bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis bb-12® and prebiotics digenix®—as well as breastfeeding, on gastrointestinal health and growth in infants aged 30 to 120 days.  methods: seventy-five healthy full-term infants were enrolled and divided equally into three groups: breastfeeding, organic protein milk formula, and organic protein milk with bb-12® and prebiotics digenix® formula. the study included four pediatric follow-ups at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after birth, before the introduction of complementary feeding.  results: infants in the organic protein milk with bb-12® and prebiotics digenix® and breastfeeding groups had significantly softer stools and higher bowel movement frequencies at 90 and 120 days compared to those in the organic protein milk group, suggesting better gastrointestinal health due to the inclusion of bb-12® in organic protein milk with prebiotics digenix®. growth parameters (weight, length and head circumference) and sleep patterns were similar across all groups, indicating that all feeding methods provide adequate nutrition and similar sleep quality. however, less gastrointestinal discomfort (bloating and burping) was observed in the organic protein milk with bb-12® and prebiotics digenix® and breastfeeding groups, indicating better digestive tolerance. the safety profile was comparable across all groups.  novelty of the study: this study is among the first randomized controlled trials comparing organic protein milk formula enriched with bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactic bb-12® and prebiotics digenix® to breastfeeding and standard formula in infants. the findings demonstrate significant improvements in gastrointestinal health, including softer stools, increased bowel movement frequency, and reduced digestive discomfort, positioning this formulation as a safe and effective alternative to breastfeeding. conclusions: these findings support organic protein milk with bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis bb-12® and prebiotics digenix® as a safe and effective alternative to breastfeeding for promoting gastrointestinal health. further research is needed to optimize formula composition and assess long-term health outcomes. keywords: infant nutrition, gastrointestinal health, cow's milk-based formula, bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis bb-12®, randomized controlled trial downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-03-01 issue vol. 15 no. 2 (2025): february 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com improvement of functional and sensory properties of fermented dairy drink narine using raw apricot gum | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 / research articles improvement of functional and sensory properties of fermented dairy drink narine using raw apricot gum authors hrachya g. hovhannisyan lusine v. danielyan naira b. chichoyan maria m. pashayan lusine g. baghdasaryan inna e. melkumyan andranik h. barseghyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i8.1398 abstract background: it has been proven that natural apricot gum and the functional sour milk drink “narine” fermented by l. helveticus mdc 9602, possess health-promoting and healing properties. the combined use of l. helveticus and apricot gum in dairy fermentation can create a new functional product with enhanced healing and organoleptic properties. objective: to create a new functional fermented milk product by combining apricot gum (ag) and l. helveticus, with improved health-promoting and sensory properties. methods: for joint fermentation, 0.125%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1.0% of raw ag were dissolved in milk preheated to 60°c, pasteurized at 85°c for 15 minutes, and cooled to 45°c. subsequently, the samples were inoculated with l. helveticus culture at a concentration of 5% and incubated at 37°c. the clotted samples were then transferred to 5°c for ripening. analysis of the samples was carried out at 1, 14, and 28 days of storage. antioxidant capacity was determined by the dpph-scavenging assay. the total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were quantified by the folin-ciocalteu and alcl3 colorimetric methods, respectively. results: apricot gum significantly stimulates the growth of the probiotic l. helveticus starter culture in microbiological medium and in milk. the stimulation of l. helveticus growth leads to a significant increase in the rate of coagulation and acidification of milk, improving the consistency and viscosity of narine. the addition of ag extends the shelf life of the product in refrigerated storage, maintains a high viability count of the starter culture, and reduces syneresis and acidification. ag also significantly increases the antioxidant activity, which correlates with the viable cell count of l. helveticus. a synergistic increase in the viscosity of milk enriched with ag was discovered, depending on the degree of acidification. conclusions: the high total phenolic content plays a key role in the biological activity of raw apricot gum. most of the ag-induced changes, such as increased milk coagulation rate, enhanced antioxidant activity, and improved acidity, were found to be due to the promotion of starter culture growth. raw ag can be used to increase the yield of bioactive peptides in lab cultures and to improve the functional and sensory properties of yogurts. keywords: sour milk narine, apricot gum, milk joint fermentation, synbiotic, sensory properties, antioxidant capacity. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-08-22 issue vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com improvement in autonomic balance through 12-week supplementation of a novel curcumin formulation in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 / research articles improvement in autonomic balance through 12-week supplementation of a novel curcumin formulation in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled study authors kuwabara yoshitaka hyunjin lee akiko hirose yuji makino kyohei hashimoto misaki sakata tadashi watanabe doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i6.1330 abstract background: curcumin has several health benefits due to its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but its bioavailability is very low, limiting its potential. we have developed a novel curcumin formulation, ts-p1, which has an 85.2-fold higher bioavailability of curcumin than raw curcumin.   objective: to investigate the efficacy of ts-p1 on fatigue, mood status, and autonomic function.   methods: ninety healthy japanese adults were randomized to the placebo or ts-p1 group and took either the placebo or ts-p1 containing 150 mg of curcumin for 12 weeks. visual analogue scale for fatigue (vas-f) scores, profile of mood states questionnaire second edition (poms2) scores, and autonomic functions were measured every 4 weeks.   results: both groups showed an improvement in the vas-f over the study period, but there was no significant difference between the placebo and ts-p1 groups. however, the mean change from baseline in the anger and depression scores of the poms2, particularly in those aged 40 and over, in the ts-p1 group showed a greater range of decline at week 12. the mean change from baseline in lnlf and lf/hf also decreased in the ts-p1 group. blood pressure also decreased in the ts-p1 group.   conclusions: these data suggest that ts-p1 induced a parasympathetic dominant state, and that curcumin has an important role in the regulation of autonomic balance. 12 weeks of supplementation of ts-p1 is expected to improve both mood status and vascular function.   trial registration: umin000050377   foundation: theravalues corporation   keywords: curcumin; ts-p1: theracurmin super; mood status; autonomic balance, parasympathetic dominance; vascular function downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-06-08 issue vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com apricot leaf: a new source of bioactive compounds – an overview | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 / research articles apricot leaf: a new source of bioactive compounds – an overview authors anna m. grigoryan ruzanna m. hanisyan varsik s. mirzoyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i10.1760 abstract background: growing awareness of the health benefits of functional foods has fueled interest in products rich in bioactive compounds. fruits and berries are well-established sources of phytochemicals such as polyphenols, terpenes, pectin, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. more recently, plant leaves have emerged as promising alternative reservoirs of these bioactive compounds. several berry leaves are already included in the european commission’s novel food catalogue or are traditionally consumed in herbal teas. within this context, the leaves of apricot (prunus armeniaca l.) represent a valuable yet largely underexplored resource. objectives: this review summarizes current knowledge on the biochemical composition, phytochemical diversity, and health-promoting effects of apricot leaves, highlighting their potential applications in functional foods and natural health products. results: apricot leaves contain abundant polyphenols, flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, essential oils, and vital macroand microelements. key phenolic compounds include chlorogenic acid, catechin, rutin, and naringin, while condensed tannins dominate the tannin fraction. orac, abts, frap, and chemiluminescent assays confirm strong free-radical-scavenging capacity. quercetin-3-o-rutinoside, 5-o-caffeoylquinic acid, and 3-o-caffeoylquinic acid exhibit anti-obesity effects through pancreatic lipase and cox-1 inhibition. essential oils rich in phytol show notable antioxidant and neuroprotective activity, including acetylcholinesterase inhibition. apricot leaf extracts display hepatoprotective, antimicrobial (notably against staphylococcus aureus and salmonella typhimurium), and antifungal properties without cytotoxicity. minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc further enhance their nutritional value. conclusions: with their rich phytochemical and mineral profile, apricot leaves offer promising applications in herbal teas, oral care, skincare, and as natural flavoring agents. their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and hepatoprotective effects support their potential as functional food ingredients and natural health-promoting products. novelty: this is the first comprehensive review dedicated to the phytochemistry, pharmacological potential, and food-industry applications of apricot leaves. keywords: apricot leaves, bioactive compounds, functional food, bioactive properties, applications in functional downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-10-15 issue vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com volatile signatures and antioxidant potentials of white mugwort (artemisia lactiflora) extracts in emulsions: the influence of ph on functionality and stability | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / research articles volatile signatures and antioxidant potentials of white mugwort (artemisia lactiflora) extracts in emulsions: the influence of ph on functionality and stability authors kittipongpittaya ketinun panya atikorn phonsatta natthaporn puangploy premsak aoumtes kittipat sangpetch pennapa puangsawai nattathida wongkasikorn pimvalee doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1706 abstract background: white mugwort (artemisia lactiflora), a medicinal plant native to several asian countries, is known for its antioxidant-rich compounds and aromatic volatiles, making it a promising natural additive in food and cosmetic emulsions. however, its stability and effectiveness can be influenced by environmental factors, especially ph. objective: this study investigated the volatile compound composition and antioxidant efficiency of white mugwort in its fresh and dried forms under different ph conditions (3, 5, and 7), with the aim of exploring its potential as a natural antioxidant in oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions. methods: volatile compounds were analyzed using gc-ms. the antioxidant efficiency of white mugwort extract was evaluated in o/w emulsions at different concentrations (200, 400, and 600 ppm) and compared with bht and α-tocopherol (both at 200 ppm) using peroxide value (pv) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (tbars) assays. results: volatile compounds were analyzed by gc-ms, identifying 31 compounds in fresh samples and 34 in dried samples. drying at 50 °c for 24 hours caused reductions in several key volatiles, including β-myrcene, β-cis-ocimene, 3-carene, and γ-gurjunene. conversely, compounds such as santolina triene, caryophyllene, and bicyclosesquiphellandrene increased, indicating thermal degradation and chemical conversion during drying. ph significantly influenced the volatile profiles. these findings highlight the role of ph-driven chemical reactions in aroma stability. the antioxidant study showed that antioxidant efficiency increased with higher extract concentrations. extracts at ph 3 and 5 demonstrated stronger antioxidant activity than those at ph 7, evidenced by longer lag times in lipid hydroperoxide formation and lower tbars values. this ph-dependent behavior was not observed with bht or α-tocopherol, suggesting a unique interaction between white mugwort phenolics and the emulsion interface. novelty: this study provides novel insights into the volatile compound dynamics and antioxidant properties of white mugwort under varying processing and environmental conditions, with a particular focus on phand dose-dependent antioxidant performance in emulsions. these findings hold significant scientific and industrial relevance. conclusion: overall, white mugwort extract demonstrated promising potential as a natural antioxidant, especially under mildly acidic conditions, with superior performance to α-tocopherol and applicability in clean-label formulations. additionally, insights into ph effects on volatile stability contribute to improving aroma retention in food and cosmetic products. keywords: aromatic, medicinal plant, natural antioxidant, oil-in-water emulsion downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-09-03 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com tartaric acid new derivatives as prospective and safe alternative to antimicrobials for food products packing | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 / research articles tartaric acid new derivatives as prospective and safe alternative to antimicrobials for food products packing authors aram r. mikaelyan bella g. babayan armen l. grigoryan anna m. grigoryan nona l. asatryan marina a. melkumyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1195 abstract introduction: multi-drug resistance of pathogens and food spoilage bacteria is one of the most prevalent problems in contemporary science because the microbial adaptation potential is permanently being stimulated by the excessive antibiotic usage by mankind. in this research, seven new derivatives of tartaric acid (ta) were studied. their high activity against the multi-drug resistant bacteria and the biodegradation potential by soil microflora was demonstrated. objective: based on multiple literature data about aldaric acids antimicrobial properties, for combating pan-drug and especially multi-drug resistant pathogenic microbes,  natural l-tartaric acid was target-derivatized by cyclohexyl-, phenyl-, benzyland ethanolaminefunctional groups into complex amino salts and cyclic imides, which have demonstrated the significant bactericidal and bacteriostatic activity against the spoilage agent bacteria, as well as phytopathogenic and human opportunistic pathogens. results: in vitro analyses of ta ethanolaminebenzyl-, cyclohexyland phenylimides and complex amino salts have shown that the mentioned substances are highly active agents for combating multi-drug resistant gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens and food spoilage microbes, such as: pseudomonas aeruginosa, stenotrophomonas maltophilia, klebsiella pneumonia, salmonella enteritidis, staphylococcus aureus, etc. these compounds are biodegradable by p. chlororaphis group non-pathogenic bacteria and their resistance is ensured by genes of nucleoid as well as are not transmitted by plasmids. in silico analyses have demonstrated their alternative mechanism of action.  conclusions: the results suggest that ta new derivatives can be potentially recommended as safe alternative antimicrobials for food packaging. keywords: tartaric acid imides, tartaric acid complex aminosalts, spoilage microorganisms, antimicrobial activity, multi-drug resistance.  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-01-09 issue vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the role of curcumin in periodontal therapy: an update | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 / review articles the role of curcumin in periodontal therapy: an update authors reem al-kattan king saud university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i4.1327 abstract background: periodontal diseases, including gingivitis and periodontitis, present a significant global health burden, particularly affecting adults and especially the aging population. the etiology involves complex interactions between microbial colonization and host immune-inflammatory responses, leading to tissue destruction and bone resorption. current conventional treatments, primarily focused on mechanical debridement and antimicrobial agents, often have limitations and challenges, including antibiotic resistance and limited tissue regenerative potential. curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from the curcuma longa plant, has emerged as a promising adjunctive therapeutic agent owing to its remarkable pharmacological properties. extensive preclinical research has revealed the potential anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory effects of curcumin. these attributes make it a compelling candidate for addressing various aspects of periodontal pathogenesis. furthermore, curcumin's capacity to in vitro inhibit various periodontopathogens such as porphyromonas gingivalis and aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans demonstrates its potential as a natural antimicrobial agent. its adjunctive use in local drug delivery systems, such as gels or nanoparticles, holds promise for targeted delivery and sustained release within periodontal pockets, enhancing its therapeutic potential. however, challenges related to its bioavailability, stability, and dosage standardization need to be addressed for successful clinical outcomes. keywords: periodontal diseases; curcumin; bioactive compounds, inflammatory response, microbial dysbiosis downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-05-06 issue vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 section review articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com helichrysum arenarium as a source of flavonoids: evaluation of antimicrobial activity and flavonoid content of extracts of helichrysum flowers in vitro | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 / research articles helichrysum arenarium as a source of flavonoids: evaluation of antimicrobial activity and flavonoid content of extracts of helichrysum flowers in vitro authors asya badalyan syuzanna abrahamyan arevik abovyan armen badalyan gayane semerjyan narine hovhannisyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1257 abstract background: helichrysum (family asteraceae, kind of h. armenium, subfamily of asteroideae) is known in armenian traditional medicine for its diuretic, antioxidant, choleretic and anti-inflammatory properties. studies have shown that helichrysum flowers have a high content of flavonoids. in this study, we investigated the impact of various extraction process parameters on the yield of flavonoids obtained from helichrysum flowers in armenia. subsequently, a comprehensive antimicrobial assay was conducted on the ethanol and aqueous extracts derived from the dried flower heads of helichrysum.  objective: the objective of this study is to explore the influence of extraction process parameters on the yield of flavonoids from h. arenarium flowers and to determine their antibacterial activity. methods: antibacterial activity was determined using the agar-well diffusion method against four bacterial species (e. coli, salmonella enterica, staphylococcus aureus and s. typhimirium). the assessment of the total flavonoid content in the ethanol extract of helichrysum was conducted using the alcl3 method, following the procedure outlined by andreeva and kalinkina.  results: the ethanolic and aqueous extracts demonstrated antibacterial activity against staphylococcus aureus atcc 6538 and bacillus subtilis 168. however, no significant activity was observed against escherichia coli atcc 8739 and salmonella typhimurium atcc 14028. the research findings affirm that the extract derived from everlasting flowers exhibits antimicrobial properties, particularly targeting gram-positive bacteria.  conclusion: the results of our tests indicate that the extract of helichrysum belonging to armenian flora, is rich in flavonoids and has significant antimicrobial activity and may find application in the food industry, as well as in organic agriculture. keywords: helichrysum, plant extracts, flavonoids, antimicrobial activity, spectrophotometry downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-01-09 issue vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com influence of temperature, solvent and extraction procedure on the content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of aloysia citriodora palau leaves | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles influence of temperature, solvent and extraction procedure on the content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of aloysia citriodora palau leaves authors ma. guadalupe garnica-romo claudia iveth sánchez pahua hector eduardo martinez-flores doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1430 abstract background: the leaves of aloysia citriodora palau are a source of phenolic compounds that have antioxidant properties. objective: the objective of this study was to compare the effects of temperature, type of solvent, maceration, and ultrasound processes in the extraction of phenolic compounds from a. citriodora palau leaves that allow for maintaining the highest antioxidant capacity. methods: in this study, phenolic compounds were extracted from a. citriodora by two methods, maceration, and ultrasonic treatment, using water and 80% ethanol as solvents and extraction temperatures of 25 °c, 45 °c, and 65 °c. total phenolic compounds (tphen), total flavonoid compounds (tflav), and antioxidant capacity, evaluated by dpph and abts assay, were characterized and reported as inhibition concentration (ic50). results: the highest cphen content was obtained with ethanolic extract using the ultrasonic method at 65 °c, with a value of 15.32 mg eag/ml at 65 °c. for tflav, the highest value was obtained with the ultrasonic treatment at 45 °c using ethanol as solvent, obtaining a value of 6.52 mg eq/ml. the best antioxidant capacity was shown by the sonication with ethanol at 65 and 45 °c, with ic50 values of 27.10 µg/ml and 20.40 µg/ml, respectively. conclusion: ultrasound extraction at higher temperatures (45°c and 65°c) proved more effective than maceration, yielding greater amounts of phenolic and flavonoid compounds and exhibiting better antioxidant capacity.”. keywords: aloysia citrodora, phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, inhibitory concentration ic50. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-06 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com active medicinal-food homologous complex nutrients (amcn) enhance immune systems in zebrafish | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles active medicinal-food homologous complex nutrients (amcn) enhance immune systems in zebrafish authors yinan yuan fuqiao xu heng liu xiaoze ren lan yuan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1782 abstract background: immunosuppression, whether caused by disease, stress, or medical treatments, compromises host defense by disrupting both innate and adaptive immune responses. natural compounds such as ganoderma lucidum, polygonatum, and mulberry leaves have long been used in traditional medicine for their immune-enhancing properties, yet their efficacy is often limited by low bioavailability. biotransformation offers a promising approach to enhance the bioactivity of these medicinal-food homologous substances, but its potential in restoring immune function has not been fully explored. objective: the objective of this study was to investigate whether active medicinal-food homologous complex nutrients (amcn) formulation containing ganoderma lucidum, polygonatum, and mulberry leaf could restore immune function in an immunodeficient zebrafish model. specifically, we aimed to evaluate its effects on both innate and adaptive immune cell populations, including neutrophils, macrophages, and t cells, as well as its ability to modulate key immune-related cytokines. methods: amcn was prepared by culturing ganoderma lucidum mycelia, followed by enzymatic biotransformation with polygonatum and mulberry leaf powders and subsequent fermentation with lactobacillus plantarum. transgenic zebrafish larvae were used as an in vivo model to evaluate immunomodulatory effects. immune suppression was induced using cyclophosphamide, and larvae were exposed to amcn to assess immune recovery. changes in innate and adaptive immune cell populations and key cytokine expression were analyzed to determine the efficacy of amcn. results: amcn treatment significantly restored immune cell populations in immunodeficient zebrafish, increasing neutrophils, macrophages, and t cells compared with the model group. it also upregulated key pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tnf-α, il-12a, and ifn-γ. conclusion: amcn effectively restores both innate and adaptive immune cell populations in an immunodeficient zebrafish model, highlighting its potential as a natural immunomodulatory agent. novelty of the study: this study is the first to show that a biotransformed complex of amcn can restore both innate and adaptive immune cell populations in an immunodeficient zebrafish model. amcn exhibited broad immunostimulatory effects, upregulating key cytokines and highlighting biotransformation as a strategy to enhance the bioactivity of medicinal-food homologous substances for mitigating immunosuppression. keywords: amcn, biotransformation, immunomodulation, zebrafish model. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-03 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com sedative effects of roasted green tea aroma on autonomic nervous activity, central nervous activity, and subjective mood state in healthy adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 / research articles sedative effects of roasted green tea aroma on autonomic nervous activity, central nervous activity, and subjective mood state in healthy adults authors akio sugimoto yuka tatsumi masaki ichitani doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i1.1467 abstract introduction: to clarify the physiological and psychological effects of roasted green tea aroma, this study examined the effects of roasted green tea extract and its major aromatic components on autonomic nervous activity, central nervous activity, and subjective mood state. methods: twenty healthy adults who were not averse to the aroma of green tea, did not smoke, did not display any flu symptoms, and were not receiving drug treatment participated in this study. the study samples comprised a roasted green tea extract from shizuoka first-growth green tea (test i) and three pyrazines, which are the main aromatic components of roasted green tea (test iii). the pupil miosis rate, peripheral skin temperature, and cerebral blood flow were measured after 2 min of inhalation of the study samples as physiological evaluations. subjective mood state was investigated using a questionnaire for psychological evaluation. results: the results showed that inhalation of roasted green tea aroma significantly increased the pupillary miosis rate and peripheral skin temperature, similar to the effects observed with hot water. furthermore, inhalation of roasted green tea aroma reduced the amount of oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting that it also has a sedative effect on the central nervous system. in the psychological evaluation using the visual analog scale, roasted green tea aroma inhalation reduced the scores for “tension”, and “anxiety” while increasing those for “mood” and “comfort” relative to those observed with hot water. in addition, the evaluation of the main aromatic components of roasted green tea, specifically three different pyrazines, demonstrated physiological effects similar to those of roasted green tea even at room temperature when tested at concentrations derived from the results of the analysis. conclusion: the aroma of roasted green tea has both physiological and psychological sedative effects that differ from those of hot water and suggest that these pyrazines play a role in producing these effects, with 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine being the most important aromatic component. furthermore, the findings suggest that roasted green tea aroma exerts a sedative effect on the autonomic nervous system by suppressing sympathetic nerve activity while increasing parasympathetic nerve activity. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-01-15 issue vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antioxidant activity of fractionated pigmented thai hawm gra dang ngah 59 rice bran hydrolysates: pretreatment-assisted enzymatic extraction | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 / research articles antioxidant activity of fractionated pigmented thai hawm gra dang ngah 59 rice bran hydrolysates: pretreatment-assisted enzymatic extraction authors pornpen panomwan nantawat tatiyaborworntham doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i6.1376 abstract background: hawm gra dang ngah 59 rice (hgdn 59) is a pure line grown in the takbai district, narathiwat, located in the southern border province of thailand. the previously reported hgdn 59 rice bran’s potential as a component rich in nutrients-especially high-quality protein, has not been exploited. there is also insufficient research data on biological activity and tested methods of exposing and releasing bioactive hydrolysates from hgdn 59 rice bran hydrolysates (hgdn 59-rbh).  objectives: this study aimed to determine the antioxidative activity of three different pretreatments following ultrafiltration fractionation of hgdn 59-rbh.  methods: hgdn 59 rice bran was defatted and pretreated with acid, alpha amylase, and water prior to digestion with consecutive pepsin and trypsin. hgdn 59-rbh was further fractionated by ultrafiltration into three molecular weight (mw) fractions: < 3 kda, 3-5 kda, and > 5 kda. the whole rbh and three mw fractions were assessed to determine protein yield, protein recovery, total phenolic content, and the following antioxidative assays: 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (abts) radical scavenging activity, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (dpph) radical scavenging activity, ferrous ion chelating activity, and ferric ion reducing antioxidation power (frap). results: the highest protein content was obtained using pretreatment with acid, yielding 17.93± 0.08 g protein/100 g hydrolysates with 23.21 g/100 g protein recovery in defatted rice bran (drb). the > 5 kda fraction from the acid pretreatment-assisted enzymatic extraction of hgdn 59-rbh showed the highest phenolic content and scavenging activity against abts radical (2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)) (ec50 0.669 mg/ml) and dpph radical (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (ec50 0.065 mg/ml) (p<0.05).  conclusions: the findings reveal that subjecting hgdn 59-rbh to acid treatment before enzymatic breakdown is a successful approach to extracting peptides with potent antioxidant properties. consequently, the resulting hydrolysates, rich in antioxidants, hold promise as valuable additions to food and nutraceutical formulations, enhancing their functional attributes. keywords: thai hawm gra dang ngah 59 rice bran, fractionated rice bran hydrolysates, pretreatment-assisted enzymatic extraction, antioxidant activity downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-06-21 issue vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com investigating the efficacy of 18-week salmon protein hydrolysate supplementation on metabolic inflammation, well-being, and cosmetic outcomes: a pilot clinical trial in healthy adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles investigating the efficacy of 18-week salmon protein hydrolysate supplementation on metabolic inflammation, well-being, and cosmetic outcomes: a pilot clinical trial in healthy adults authors christian bjerknes nicholas framptom crawford currie doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1491 abstract background: fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom associated with aging, which significantly reduces quality of life. salmon protein hydrolysate (sph) has recently been investigated for its potential benefits in improving energy levels, reducing oxidative stress, and promoting cosmetic health. objective: the primary objective of this proof-of-concept clinical trial was to evaluate the effects of daily low-dose sph supplementation on energy levels, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cosmetic outcomes in healthy adults, with a focus on potential gender-specific effects. methods: this open-label, single-arm study involved 20 participants, of which 70.6% were female. participants consumed 4g of sph daily for 128 days. key outcomes measured included changes in perceived energy levels, antioxidant gene expression (hmox1 and fth1), free radical activity, serum cytokine levels (il-5, il-8, crp, il-2, il-10), hematological parameters, and self-reported cosmetic outcomes. assessments were made throughout the study to track changes over time. results: sph supplementation led to a significant 10.24% improvement in perceived energy levels (p = 0.004), with a greater improvement observed among women (14.55%, p = 0.008). a 9% reduction in oxidative stress (p < 0.001) was accompanied by up regulation of hmox1 and fth1 genes by 4.09-fold and 3.77-fold, respectively. pro-inflammatory  markers il-5, il-8, and crp decreased significantly (p < 0.001), while anti-inflammatory markers il-2 and il-10 increased (p < 0.001). self-reported cosmetic outcomes improved by 23.7% (p = 0.03), with women reporting a 34.5% enhancement in hair, skin, and nail health (p = 0.009). conclusion: daily supplementation with low-dose sph improved energy levels, reduced oxidative stress, and modulated inflammatory markers in healthy adults. notably, women experienced greater improvements in both energy levels and cosmetic outcomes, suggesting sph may be a beneficial supplement for enhancing overall well-being and cosmetic health, particularly among women. keywords: salmon protein hydrolysate, oxidative stress, inflammation, fatigue, cosmetic outcomes, aging. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-21 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com study of changes of antioxidant activity during fermentation of various types of legumes as a possible functional food ingredient | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles study of changes of antioxidant activity during fermentation of various types of legumes as a possible functional food ingredient authors anastasia kim petr balanov irina smotraeva doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1452 abstract background: diacylglycerol (dag) oil is a natural component of various edible oils. dag has been reported to prevent obesity through a variety of potential mechanisms in comparison with triacylglycerol (tag) in humans. an increase in postprandial energy expenditure (ee) is proposed to be one of the mechanisms underlying this effect of dag. up-regulated mrna expressions associated with ee by dag in the small intestine may explain increased postprandial ee. the small intestine seems to contribute to changes in ee by dag. we previously studied plasma serotonin, which is mostly present in the small intestine and mediates sympathetic thermogenesis. we found that dag ingestion increases plasma serotonin levels by approximately 50% compared to tag ingestion. objective: to understand the molecular mechanisms for dag-induced increase in serotonin and ee, we investigated effects of dag on serotonin release and expressions of genes associated with ee, using the human intestinal cell line. methods: the intestinal cell line, the caco-2 cells, was incubated with medium containing 1-monoacylglycerol (1-monooleyglycerol [1-mog]) and 2-monoacylglycerol (2-monooleylglycerol [2-mog]), distinctive digestive products of dag and tag, respectively. we measured serotonin release from the caco-2 cells using a newly developed high-performance liquid chromatography. further, we studied effects of 1-mog, 2-mog, and serotonin on expressions of mrna associated with ee (acyl-coa oxidase [aco], medium-chain acyl-coa dehydrogenase [mcad], fatty acid translocase [fat], and uncoupling protein-2 [ucp-2]), by the real-time quantitative rt-pcr system. results: 100 mm 1-mog significantly increased serotonin release from the caco-2 cells compared with the same concentration of 2-mog by approximately 37% (p<0.001). expressions of mrna of aco, fat, and ucp-2 were significantly higher in 100 mm 1-mog-treated caco-2 cells than 100 mm 2-mog-treaed cells by approximately 13%, 24%, and 35%, respectively. expressions of mrna of aco, mcad, fat, and ucp-2 were significantly increased in 400 nm serotonin-treated caco-2 cells as compared with the caco-2 cells incubated without serotonin by approximately 29%, 30%, and 39%, respectively. conclusion: our study demonstrated that a hydrolytic product of dag increases serotonin release from the intestinal cells and enhances expressions of genes associated with b-oxidation (aco, mcad), thermogenesis (ucp-2) and fatty acids metabolism (fat). furthermore, this study revealed that serotonin also enhances expression of these genes, proposing a new molecular biological mechanism for dag-mediated anti-obesity effect. serotonin may play an important role in dag-mediated prevention of obesity. keywords: fabaceae functional food, sustainable food, fermentation, antioxidant activity, osteoporosis prevention, obesity prevention, b vitamins, natto, vegetable protein. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-01 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com perilla seed oil as an adjunctive treatment with statins improves lipid profiles in elderly patients: a post hoc data analysis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 / research articles perilla seed oil as an adjunctive treatment with statins improves lipid profiles in elderly patients: a post hoc data analysis authors rapeebhorn chanapuk department of integrative medicine, chulabhorn international college of medicine, 99 moo18, khlongnueng, klongluang, pathum thani, thailand sombat mungtaweepongsa center of excellence in stroke, faculty of medicine, 95 moo18, khlongnueng, klongluang, pathum thani, thammasat university, thailand kusuma sriyakul department of integrative medicine, chulabhorn international college of medicine, 99 moo18, khlongnueng, klongluang, pathum thani, thailand parunkul tungsukruthai department of integrative medicine, chulabhorn international college of medicine, 99 moo18, khlongnueng, klongluang, pathum thani, thailand junya pattaraarchachai department of integrative medicine, chulabhorn international college of medicine, 99 moo18, khlongnueng, klongluang, pathum thani, thailand chuntida kamalashiran department of integrative medicine, chulabhorn international college of medicine, 99 moo18, khlongnueng, klongluang, pathum thani, thailand https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7511-8906 doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i12.1258 abstract background: dyslipidemia is characterized by abnormal lipid concentrations in the bloodstream, heightening the risk of atherosclerosis. while statins are primarily prescribed to treat dyslipidemia, not all patients benefit from them for various reasons, such as intolerance, myopathy, and hepatotoxicity. perilla frutescens (l.) britton, traditionally grown in east asia, has been used for various therapeutic purposes. the seed oil of this plant is prosperous in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. previous research found the efficacy of perilla (p. frutescens) seed oil in reducing cholesterol in patients with dementia. our study aimed to determine if the lipid-lowering effects of p. frutescens seed oil occur on their own or alongside statin treatments by conducting a retrospective analysis of existing data to assess its efficacy in improving lipid profiles among the elderly. objective: this study aimed to understand if p. frutescens seed oil inherently possesses lipid-lowering properties or if these effects are amplified when combined with statins. methods: a retrospective post hoc analysis was performed on 182 geriatric patients previously involved in a dementia study. these patients were categorized into four groups: those administered both p. frutescens seed oil and a statin (g1), only p. frutescens seed oil (g2), only a statin (g3), and neither (g4). the outcomes evaluated post-intervention included lipid profiles, liver and renal functions, complete blood count, and neutrophils to lymphocytes and platelets (n/lp) ratio. results: patients in g1 exhibited the most pronounced reductions in total cholesterol and ldl-c levels, suggesting a potential synergistic effect when p. frutescens seed oil is combined with statins. liver enzyme levels remained stable across all groups, suggesting the hepatic safety of p. frutescens seed oil even when co-administered with statins. conclusion: p. frutescens seed oil, particularly when used alongside statins, exhibits the potential to improve lipid profiles and may also offer liver protection. however, extended studies are necessary to understand its therapeutic significance in cardiovascular disease management fully. keywords: perilla frutescens,omega-3,statins, lipid profile, elderly, hepatoprotection, functional food, bioactive compound downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-12-28 issue vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com development of a waste-free technology for comprehensive processing of cornus mas (dogwood) fruits: production of natural viscous extract and medical suppositories with potential anti-hemorrhoidal activity | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / research articles development of a waste-free technology for comprehensive processing of cornus mas (dogwood) fruits: production of natural viscous extract and medical suppositories with potential anti-hemorrhoidal activity authors slavik dadayan artavazd poghosyan lilit arstamyan ani chakhoyan gohar mkrtchyan anahit hovhannisyan narine hovhannisyan ani dadayan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1726 abstract background: cornus mas (dogwood) is well known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, making it a promising candidate for hemorrhoid treatment. traditional medicine recommends consuming dogwood with seeds due to their oil content, which provides lubrication and alleviates symptoms such as pain, itching, and bleeding. scientific medicine shows particular interest in ripe fruits and dogwood seeds for their ability to strengthen local immunity and aid in treating early-stage hemorrhoids. this growing interest has increased demand for multifunctional products such as biologically enriched nutraceuticals that combine therapeutic and preventive effects, necessitating precise qualitative and quantitative enrichment with bioactive compounds. objective: the development of an advanced technology designed to fulfill the criteria for the isolation and preservation of biologically active substances in their native form, as well as for the production of medicinal formulations based on them, remains relevant. highly efficient methods for isolating fatty acids and anthocyanins without changing native structures and with high chemical yields (≥ 90%) and purified from mineral salts will be developed. optimal conditions for obtaining medical suppositories based on isolated native bas will be selected.  methods: the qualitative and quantitative determination of fatty acid composition via gas chromatography was conducted. the elemental analysis of the seeds and pulp was performed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (agilent 5800 vdv icp-oes) and the total anthocyanins content in the viscous extract was estimated by spectrophotometric method. the production of medicinal suppositories was carried out using the fusion-molding method.  results: a waste-free technology for complex utilization of dogwood fruits has been formulated, allowing the production of natural dogwood viscous extract, as well as mixtures of anthocyanins and fatty acids from primary production meals (pits and peel of pulp). using fatty acid mixture, laboratory samples of medical suppositories with potential antihemorrhoidal activity have been obtained.  novelty: the novelty of this study lies in the development of a method that preserves the integrity of bioactive compounds (bacs) and enables their use in medicinal products, particularly in suppositories with potential antimicrobial and antihemorrhoidal effects. conclusion: the development of a waste-free technology for the comprehensive processing of cornus mas fruits presents a promising, eco-friendly alternative to conventional synthetic methods for producing agents with potential antimicrobial and antihemorrhoidal activity. this natural-based approach not only reduces environmental impact and production costs but also offers considerable social benefits by providing sustainable and accessible medicines.  keywords: cornus mas, anthocyanins, fatty acids, hemorrhoidal disease, natural extracts, bioactive compounds, functional foods, therapeutic potential. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-09-06 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com production of citric acid from fermentation solution by cultivation aspergillus niger-1 strain on an extract obtained from topinambur ( helianthus tuberosus ) artichoke tubers | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / research articles production of citric acid from fermentation solution by cultivation aspergillus niger-1 strain on an extract obtained from topinambur (helianthus tuberosus) artichoke tubers authors inna e. melkumyan baghish a. harutyunyan luiza s. manukyan samvel kh. stepanyan gohar g. oganezova nelly s. avetisyan marina a. melkumyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1741 abstract background: citric acid is an organic hydroxycarboxylic tribasic acid. it is widely distributed in plants: in berries, citrus fruits, for example, in lemons, up to 9% of dry weight. citric acid is used in many industrial processes, but it is most frequently used as a flavoring ingredient and preservative in food products. because of its beneficial antioxidant properties, citric acid helps control acidity and aids in digestion. citric acid is traditionally produced by microbiological synthesis using beet molasses as the primary raw material during the metabolism of the producer strain aspergillus niger-1.  objective: nowadays, the microbial synthesis of citric acid also depends on the utilization of readily available and reasonably priced products as raw materials. this study reports on the biosynthesis of citric acid by the producer strain aspergillus niger-1 on an extract derived from the tubers of the jerusalem artichoke plant that contains inulin. currently, the synthesis of citric acid with microbes is also associated with the use of readily available products as raw materials. this study describes the biosynthesis of citric acid during the growth of the producer strain aspergillus niger-1 on an extract derived from jerusalem artichoke tubers and containing inulin. methods: to prepare the extract, water was added to the crushed jerusalem artichoke tubers in a ratio of 1:2. the inulin content in the extract was determined spectrophotometrically at a wavelength of 490 nm. fungi were grown on a shaker for submerged cultivation for seven days. hplc and neutralization methods were used to determine the concentration of citric acid in the samples. results: after a series of treatments, 2.0 liters of aqueous extract were obtained from crushed jerusalem artichoke (helianthus tuberosus) tubers, which contained about 6.5–7.0% inulin. on the fifth day of culture development, the fungus fermentation solution had the highest concentration of citric acid (5.8%), of which 4.3% citric acid was found in the supernatant. ultimately, 3.5 g of milky-white crystalline powder was isolated from the supernatant, the yield of which was 60.3% of the amount of citric acid in the fermentation solution. conclusion: to date, the aqueous extract from jerusalem artichoke tubers has not been utilized as a carbon source for the microbiological synthesis of citric acid. due to its high inulin content, resistance to environmental stressors, and minimal agricultural requirements, we proposed studying the possibility of obtaining citric acid from inulin-containing raw materials—topinambur tubers (helianthus tuberosus)—using microorganisms. novelty of the study: the scientific novelty lies in obtaining citric acid from an aqueous extract from tubers of topinambur, which is an alternative to the classic method of obtaining citric acid from beet molasses. since this is a multi-stage process, molasses is an expensive raw material. keywords: topinambur (helianthus tuberosus), inulin-containing extract, aspergillus niger, fermentation solution, supernatant, citric acid powder, food additives downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-09-23 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com acceptability and tolerability of a hibiscus sabdariffa l. beverage and effect on biomarkers of pregnant women: phase i pilot trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles acceptability and tolerability of a hibiscus sabdariffa l. beverage and effect on biomarkers of pregnant women: phase i pilot trial authors victor eduardo alcantar-rodríguez perla osorio-díaz edmundo gonzález-vargas ruben puga-díaz jesús gutiérrez-trujillo jordi saldo-periago doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1768 abstract background: hibiscus sabdariffa l. (hs) is a plant in the malvaceae family, known as roselle, whose calyces contain compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. various studies have demonstrated its antihypertensive, antihyperlipidemic, and glycemic control effects. during pregnancy, women also experience metabolic and biochemical changes that allow them to adapt to the development of a new human being. among these metabolic changes are increased plasma concentrations of glucose and fatty acids, which can serve as substrates for fetal growth. however, if not adequately controlled, they can lead to gestational diabetes and dyslipidemia. one of the main complications of pregnancy is hypertensive disorders, which affect 10% of worldwide pregnancies and are the leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality.  objective: this work aimed to evaluate the acceptability and tolerability of a hibiscus sabdariffa beverage and its effect on biomarkers in women in the second trimester of pregnancy.  methods: a four-week phase i pilot trial was conducted in women in their second trimester of pregnancy. participants consumed a daily dose of hs beverage, which provides 9.6 mg of total anthocyanins, and several metabolic parameters were recorded (diastolic and systolic blood pressure, plasma glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and creatinine concentrations, as well as urinary protein levels). measurements were taken before the start of the trial and at the end of the 4 weeks following beverage consumption.  results: the protocol for this study was approved by the research ethics committee of the centro de desarrollo de productos bióticos. ten women participated in the trial. diastolic and systolic blood pressure values did not change significantly between the initial and final measurements. plasma markers also showed no significant differences between the two measurements, although there was a slight decrease in glucose (from 80.5 ± 8.4 to 74.8 ± 9.6 mg/dl) and triglycerides (from 110.7 ± 24.5 to 105.7 ± 14.4 mg/dl). the limitations of this work were the number of participants and the study time, however, as it was a phase i pilot trial, the aim was to identify the acceptability and tolerability of the beverage and to obtain preliminary information regarding the biomarkers to apply them in a study with a larger number of participants over an extended period.  novelty: the originality of this work is the use of an hs beverage made from ground calyces, instead of a traditional infusion or extracts, to determine whether its use is feasible during pregnancy, as well as to obtain preliminary information about its effects on blood pressure and biomarkers. this pilot is the first to evaluate a ground-calyx hibiscus sabdariffa beverage (not an infusion or extract) providing 9.6 mg/day total anthocyanins specifically in second-trimester pregnant women, focusing on acceptability, tolerability, and preliminary cardiometabolic biomarkers. conclusion: hs beverage demonstrated acceptability and tolerability. although the number of women included in this preliminary trial is low, it may be expected to have at least one case of an increase in blood pressure, but none presented these symptoms. the prevention of hypertension in all cases is a promising result. the hs beverage could be evaluated in longer-term clinical trials to confirm the maintenance of blood pressure and biochemical indicators at adequate values for pregnant women according to world health organization throughout the pregnancy. keywords: hibiscus sabdariffa, acceptability, tolerability, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-11 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of black vinegar, kurozu, on chromatin modifications and microrna expression in the mouse liver | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 / research articles effects of black vinegar, kurozu, on chromatin modifications and microrna expression in the mouse liver authors yoshihiko shibayama akira fujii yuki fujimoto kensaku hamada doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i7.1383 abstract background: kurozu is a traditional japanese rice vinegar characterized by its brown color and that has been shown to improve hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and carbohydrate metabolism. kurozu has also been suggested to confer health benefits by altering gene expression; however, the molecular basis is not yet understood. objective: we previously reported that the intake of kurozu increased the expression hepatic sirt1 and microrna (mir). these changes in gene expression may be attributed to histone modifications. therefore, the current research explored the effects of supplementation with concentrated kurozu (ck) on histone modifications in the liver. methods: over a period of 50 weeks, mice received a high-fat diet (hfd), hfd with ck, or a standard diet (sd). the study focused on the impact of ck on gene expression related to lipid metabolism in the liver. results: a microarray analysis revealed that hfd increased the expression of the mir cluster located on chromosome 12, while this change was suppressed by ck. the chromatin modification region upstream of the mir cluster was analyzed using a chip assay. hfd significantly increased the levels of dimethylation of histone h3 lysine 4 (h3k4me2) and monoacetylation of histone h3 lysine 27 (h3k27ac). hfd also increased h3k4me2 levels, and this change was inhibited by hfd with ck. mir-127-5p and -134-5p, which are present in the mir cluster, inhibited mlxipl, a transcription factor involved in synthesizing fatty acids from carbohydrates. further experiments with human colon cancer cells demonstrated that mir-127-5p and -134-5p significantly knocked down mlxipl. conclusion: these results suggested that hfd affects mir expression levels by changing chromatin modification levels and that supplementation with ck suppressed hfd-induced increases in h3k4me2 levels. furthermore, hfd upregulated the expression of mir-127-5p and -134-5p, which in turn suppressed mlxipl. keywords: chromatin modification, genomic imprinting, high-fat diet, kurozu, microrna, mlxipl downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-07-18 issue vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com foods and beverages made from mexican purple corn: a means to increase anthocyanins’ intake | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / research articles foods and beverages made from mexican purple corn: a means to increase anthocyanins’ intake authors carmen gabriela mendoza-mendoza ramón marcos soto-hernánde ma. del carmen mendoza-castillo adriana delgado-alvarado francisco javier sánchez-ramírez doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1194 abstract background: anthocyanins (aas) are natural pigments and bioactive compounds that are of broad interest due to their potential beneficial effects on health. in the market, while some foods, such as berries, provide important amino acid (aa) intakes, there is a growing trend to explore new sources. in mexico, there is the mexican purple corn, a variant capable to produce aas in all the organs of the corn ear. we overlook that the preparation of foods and beverages from these raw materials may represent the development of potential functional foods and a means to increase the dietary intake of aas.  methods: we used spectrophotometry to quantify the total anthocyanins content (tac) of three foods made from purple kernels, and six beverages prepared from corn husks+corncobs or corn silks. foods consisted of elote (mexican street corn or corn on a cob), a snack, and tortillas, while beverages involved what we named functional beverages, infusions, and hot teas. we compared their tac values and estimated the aas intake.  results: foods and beverages exhibited total antioxidant capacities (tacs) ranging from 3.0 mg to 119.5 mg per 100 g of biomass (p ≤ 0.05). notably, most beverages demonstrated higher tacs than foods. the corn husks+corncobs infusion recorded the highest tac, succeeded by functional beverages derived from amino acid (aa) extracts of corn husks+corncobs (67.04 and 93.12 mg of tac per 100 g of biomass, p ≤ 0.05). among hot teas and infusions, maceration in the latter resulted in a higher aa extraction. for foods, tacs varied from 4.3 to 38.4 mg of tac per 100 g of biomass, and, similar to beverages, the preparation process influenced tac. the roasted snack exhibited a higher aa content.   conclusion: mexican purple corn shows promise as a source for foods and beverages rich in amino acids (aas). this crop represents an option to increase the daily intake of this flavonoid, and to acquire its potential bioactive effects. on a regular day, we can obtain 95 mg of ta from 300 g of purple corn-based foods, and 750 ml of different beverages made from corn husks, corncobs, and corn silks.   keywords: mexican purple corn, anthocyanins, corn husks, corncobs, corn silks, dietary source of anthocyanins. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-16 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com therapeutic potential of resveratrol, a polyphenol in the prevention of liver injury induced by diethylnitrosamine (den) through the regulation of inflammation and oxidative stress | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 / research articles therapeutic potential of resveratrol, a polyphenol in the prevention of liver injury induced by diethylnitrosamine (den) through the regulation of inflammation and oxidative stress authors arshad husain rahmani hajed obaid a alharbi amjad ali khan ali yousif babiker m. moshahid alam rizvi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i12.1502 abstract background: resveratrol (res) is an essential polyphenolic compound found in various foods, including vegetables, fruits, and chocolate. its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory potential have attracted significant interest in the management of pathogenesis, including the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. objectives: this study was designed to measure res hepatoprotective potential against diethylnitrosamine (den)-induced liver injury. methods: the hepatoprotective potential of res (20 mg/kg b.w) was evaluated by measuring the liver function enzymes, oxidative stress, and inflammation against den (200 mg/kg i.p)-induced liver injury. the liver tissue architecture and fibrosis were determined using hematoxylin and eosin, masson trichrome, and sirius red staining. moreover, the expression pattern of cyclooxygense-2 (cox-2) protein was evaluated by immunohistochemistry staining. results: seven weeks of res treatment after exposure to toxic den led to a significant reduction in liver function enzymes (ast, alt, and alp) and lipid peroxidation compared to rats treated by den only. further, results showed that res treatment reduced the pro-inflammatory cytokines (tnf-α, crp, il-1β, and il-6) and increased the antioxidant enzymefunctional foods in health and disease 2024; 14(12): 898-920 ffhd page 899 of 920 (catalase, sod, gst, and gpx) levels compared to rats treated by den only. the den-induced group of rats showed various liver tissue alterations, increased fibrosis, and high cox-2 protein expression. however, the group treated with res showed hepatoprotective potential with reduced liver tissue alterations and fibrosis. moreover, res treatment decreased the cox-2 protein expression compared to rats treated by den only, suggesting its anti-inflammatory potential. conclusion: this study revealed that res treatment reduced den-induced hepatic injury and liver cancer by protecting liver cells by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and liver function enzymes. therefore, the results indicate that res could be a possible therapeutic approach for liver diseases, including drug and alcohol-related problems. keywords: resveratrol, hepatoprotective, oxidative stress, inflammation and cancer, alcohol-related problems, fibrosis downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-12-05 issue vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com optimization of hydrolysis conditions and bio-functional properties of whey protein hydrolysate obtained from ash gourd (benincasa hispida) protease | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 / research articles optimization of hydrolysis conditions and bio-functional properties of whey protein hydrolysate obtained from ash gourd (benincasa hispida) protease authors dambar bahadur khadka laxmi adhikari pragya khadka dhan bahadur karki doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i12.1494 abstract background: enzymatic hydrolysis alters the bio-functionality of whey proteins by generating bioactive peptides. plant serine proteases as an alternative to animal and microbial proteases, recently considered useful for whey protein hydrolysate preparation to enhance nutritional and bio-functional properties. objectives: the present study thus aims at optimization of whey protein hydrolyzing conditions employing ash gourd protease (agp) and evaluation of 2, 2 diphenyl -1-picrylhydrazyl (dpph) radical scavenging (antioxidant) and angiotensin iconverting enzyme (ace) inhibition activities and potency of the generated hydrolysate. methods: optimization was accomplished using response surface methodology and generating treatment combinations applying central composite design in two steps: first temperature (50-90°c) and ph (6-9) was optimized adding same concentration of agp (0.3% v/v) at reconstituted wpc (0.6% protein) and then e/s ratio (2-6 %v/v) and hydrolysis time (1-6h) was optimized at reconstituted wpc (4% protein). the effect of hydrolysis time at optimized condition was also evaluated with response to degree of hydrolysis, antioxidant and ace inhibition activities of the generated hydrolysate and its ultra-centrifuged fractions ≤3kda and >3kda. the agp (adjusted to activity 2u/ml) obtained after partially purification by three phase partitioning method was used for hydrolysis experiments. results: the optimum conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis of whey protein to achieve maximum degree of hydrolysis (13.99%) and dpph radical scavenging activity (23.05%) were observed at 7.48 and 66.40°c. similarly, the enzyme performed optimally at enzyme by substrate ratio of 5.85% (v/v) for 6 hours of hydrolysis, providing 19.31 % of degree of hydrolysis and 47.71 % of dpph radical scavenging activity. agp hydrolyzed whey protein compared to un-hydrolysed whey protein had significantly higher degree of hydrolysis, dpph radical scavenging and ace inhibition activity. the lower molecular weight peptides fractions ≤3kda was found to be more effective (1.45 times) than the peptide fractions >3kda however was less effective (1.19 times) than the whole hydrolysate regarding antioxidant activity. similarly, ≤3kda fraction of hydrolysate had 1.9 times higher ace inhibition potential as compared to its whole hydrolysate. conclusion: overall, the study showed that the agp employed whey protein hydrolysate has potential for use as a natural antioxidant and ace inhibition agent. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-12-10 issue vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com regetting-18 complex powder (r-18cp) a formulation of components from food-medicine and its anti-aging effects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 / research articles regetting-18 complex powder (r-18cp) a formulation of components from food-medicine and its anti-aging effects authors paul f. davis lan yuan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i7.1647 abstract background: aging is a natural process that affects all living beings. this process leads to various physiological and pathological changes. human health has traditionally relied on a combination of dietary supplements and herbal remedies (food-medicine homogeneity) to combat the effects of aging. recent scientific advancements have provided more profound insights into the mechanisms by which these traditional substances contribute to the anti-aging impacts through their active components.  objectives: a formulation called regetting-18 complex powder (r-18cp) was investigated using multiple aging markers that were hypothesized to inhibit cellular senescence. this formulation included several bioactive ingredients known for their anti-aging properties, such as panax ginseng, ganoderma lucidum, and polygonati rhizome. methods: adult male and female zebrafish were paired overnight, and embryos were collected the following day. six experimental groups were established, each consisting of 10 fish, and all groups were conducted in triplicate. the groups included: (1) control, (2) model, (3) positive control (treated with 5 μg/ml resveratrol), and (4) three r-18cp treatment groups (treated with 1 μg/ml, 0.5 μg/ml, and 0.1 μg/ml, respectively). at 72 hours post-fertilization, various assays were performed: 10 fish per group were stained for β-galactosidase, another 10 for reactive oxygen species (ros), 10 were analyzed for mitochondrial membrane potential, 50 were used to assess telomerase levels, and dna was extracted from 30 fish for telomere length analysis. results: r-18cp reduced β-galactosidase staining intensity in a dose-dependent manner. increasing concentrations of r-18cp were associated with decreased ros staining intensity, elevated telomerase levels, and longer telomeres. additionally, the mitochondrial membrane potential staining intensity increased in proportion to the r-18cp concentration. conclusion: based on the five distinct aging markers assessed in the zebrafish model, r-18cp may be able to restrict aging. further studies using human models are recommended and necessary.  novelty of the study: this study is the first to report that an r-18cp can exert anti-aging effects through telomere protection and improved mitochondrial function in zebrafish models. this suggests r-18cp is a potential therapeutic compound for anti-aging. keywords: anti-aging, food-medicine homogeneity, zebrafish, β-galactosidase, telomere, telomerase, reactive oxygen, membrane potential  downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-07-08 issue vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com biologically active compounds from edible mushroom: effect on hela cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 9 (2024): september 2024 / research articles biologically active compounds from edible mushroom: effect on hela cells authors inesa a. avagyan liya minasbekyan siranush nanagulyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i9.1470 abstract background: mushrooms are unique organisms rich in proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, which allows them to be used not only as a source of nutrition but also in cosmetics and medicine. the fungus p. ostreatus possesses two strong enzymatic complexes – lignin-decaying and cellulose-decaying.  objective: the research aimed to study the antitumor activity of treated mm-wave mycelial extracts of mushrooms on the hela cell line. research on edible mushrooms against tumors is very actual and important for the field of functional food science and bioactive compounds field. methods: the effect of the fungal culture extract on the cyto-photometric and morphometric indices of the hela cell line culture was studied according to the nature of proliferation and transcription of malignant tissues. using high-resolution liquid chromatography, the amino acid composition of acid-soluble proteins in mycelial extracts of a mushroom culture treated with mm waves was studied. results: extracts of p. ostreatus mycelial culture significantly suppressed the growth of proliferative activity of human tumor cultures and completely suppressed the mitotic activity of continuous hela cell cultures to 72 hours. our study revealed a significant increase in glutamic and aspartic acids in mycelial culture extracts treated by mm-waves. conclusion:  based on hplc analysis, we suggest polyfunctional peroxidase as the candidate for the role of biologically active compound in the composition of aqueous extracts of the mycelial culture. so, the polyfunctional peroxidase plays an active role in the therapeutic properties of the oyster mushroom. keywords: anticancer activity, ant-inflammation activity, mm-waves, mushroom`s, mycelial extracts, hplc of acid-soluble proteins, hela cell line. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-10-01 issue vol. 14 no. 9 (2024): september 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com algal biomass as a food and feed supplement: process engineering analysis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 / research articles algal biomass as a food and feed supplement: process engineering analysis authors baghish harutyunyan gunnar mühlstädt leander seibel gerd hilpmann angelina sayadyan ani aghabekyan anna zakoyan gayane khachatryan ruzanna hovhannisyan tamara stepanyan seda harutyunyan vigen goginyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i7.1662 abstract background: the global market for algae-based food and feed supplements is well-established and growing rapidly. the sector has grown fivefold since 2000. while microalgae products still hold a modest market share, the large-scale commercial production of microalgae as a primary source of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and other compounds remains in its early developmental stages. if successfully mass-produced, microalgae could make a significant contribution to global food and feed security. objective: the study aims to compare the potential of selected algal strains as sustainable sources of high-value biomass for food and feed using a low-cost, solvent-free analytical method based on near-infrared spectroscopy. methods: green unicellular microalgae chlorella vulgaris pa-023, neochloris oleoabundans pa-022, and cyanobacterium limnospira maxima pc-02 were selected and cultivated in bubble column photobioreactors using nitrogen-rich media under led illumination with red and blue light spectrums. near-infrared spectroscopy was applied as a non-destructive method to monitor protein, lipid, and carbohydrate content during cultivation. results: quantitative analysis revealed distinct biochemical profiles among c. vulgaris, n. oleoabundans, and l. maxima, with protein contents of 49.2, 40.0, and 59.0 g/100 g dry weight, respectively. l. maxima showed the highest protein content, while n. oleoabundans had the highest lipid content (26.0 g/100 g dry weight), suggesting their suitability for protein-rich products and lipid-based applications. a cost-efficiency assessment of l. maxima cultivation in a 100-l photobioreactor (puevit gmbh, germany) yielded 98 g dry biomass in 7 days, with production costs estimated at €43.56. novelty: the study uniquely integrates comparative biochemical profiling of algal and cyanobacterial biomass with a cost-efficiency analysis of semi-industrial biomass production. key innovations include: (i) species-specific application potential; (ii) the first techno-economic assessment of l. maxima cultivation in a controlled photobioreactor; (iii) a practical demonstration of economically viable microalgal biomass production. conclusion: near-infrared spectroscopy has proven to be an effective method for non-destructive biomass analysis. however, improving model accuracy requires a broader calibration set with well-characterized standards. expanding this dataset will enhance the predictive power and reliability of the method. keywords: algae, high-value biomass, nir spectrophotometry, food and feed supplement, cost-efficiency. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-07-15 issue vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of dihydrocapsiate on salivary secretion in healthy subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 / research articles effects of dihydrocapsiate on salivary secretion in healthy subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study authors keisuke yoshida ryuji takeda osamu sakai doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i6.1657 abstract purpose: we aimed to assess the effects of dihydrocapsiate (dhc), a non-pungent capsaicin analog, on salivary secretion in individuals experiencing mild dry mouth symptoms. given the function of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (trpv1) in salivation, we hypothesized that dhc, which activates trpv1 with minimal irritation, could serve as a novel therapeutic agent for dry mouth (xerostomia). methods: a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial was conducted involving healthy adults aged 40 to 70 years who reported a tendency toward dry mouth. participants were randomly assigned to receive either a test tablet containing 0.8 mg dhc or a placebo tablet. saliva secretion was measured using a spitting method before and after tablet administration, with assessments conducted in the morning to minimize diurnal variations. for statistical comparisons, paired student’s t-tests were applied. results: dhc intake significantly increased salivary secretion relative to the placebo group (p < 0.05). no adverse events or significant changes in safety parameters, including body weight, bmi, or blood pressure, were recorded during the study. conclusion: dhc effectively enhanced salivary secretion while minimizing the pungency associated with capsaicin. its ability to stimulate trpv1 with low irritation suggests potential as a safe and convenient therapeutic option for individuals experiencing dry mouth.  novelty: this study is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial to demonstrate that dihydrocapsiate (dhc), a non-pungent capsaicin analog, significantly enhances salivary secretion in healthy individuals. these findings suggest that dhc may serve as a novel and tolerable functional ingredient for the management of oral dryness. keywords: dihydrocapsiate (dhc), capsaicin, trpv1, salivary secretion, xerostomia, dry mouth. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-06-27 issue vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com antimicrobial zein/glucomannan edible films with pomegranate polyphenols and meadow sage essential oil for enhanced food preservation | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 / research articles antimicrobial zein/glucomannan edible films with pomegranate polyphenols and meadow sage essential oil for enhanced food preservation authors ikromjon b. ismoilov durdona a. yuldasheva gulru a. kodirova jamshed t. bobokalonov zayniddin k. muhidinov linshu liu doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i6.1646 abstract background: edible coatings have garnered considerable attention in recent years as sustainable alternatives to conventional food packaging, owing to their safety, biodegradability, and environmental compatibility. natural polymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, are widely used to develop edible films with favorable mechanical strength and gas barrier properties. objective: this study investigates the incorporation of bioactive compounds from meadow sage (salvia pratensis) and polyphenols from pomegranate peel (punica granatum l.) into a biopolymer matrix composed of zein (z) and glucomannan (gm). the mechanical, moisture barrier, and antimicrobial properties of the resulting composite films were evaluated to assess their potential in functional food applications. methods: essential oils from s. pratensis (seo) and polyphenolic extracts from p. granatum (pphc), sourced from plants grown in tajikistan, were incorporated into z/gm-based edible films. the structural properties, antioxidant activity, mechanical behavior, and antimicrobial effects of the films were systematically characterized. results: the bioactive films demonstrated strong radical scavenging activity. the addition of seo enhanced the hydrophobicity of the films, resulting in improved moisture barrier performance. while the films exhibited moderate tensile strength, they showed increased flexibility; notably, seo significantly increased elongation at break to 184.2% (p < 0.05). films containing bac concentrations of 20–50 µg/ml displayed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, as well as yeast strains. novelty and contribution: this study presents a novel approach to developing biodegradable edible films incorporating plant-derived bioactive compounds for active food packaging. the functional enhancement of the films, particularly in terms of mechanical resilience and antimicrobial efficacy, underscores their potential as carriers of bioactive ingredients in the context of functional foods. conclusion: z/gm edible films enriched with pphc and seo show promising properties for food coating applications. their biodegradability, combined with enhanced antimicrobial and barrier functions, positions them as eco-friendly, functional alternatives for next-generation food packaging systems. keywords: glucomannan, zein, edible films, polyphenols, essential oils, antibacterial activity. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-06-05 issue vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com ultra-low-dose lactulose modulates the gut microbiota in healthy adults: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 / research articles ultra-low-dose lactulose modulates the gut microbiota in healthy adults: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial authors ryo sakiyama seiya miyashita manabu nakano miyuki tanaka doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i12.1838 abstract background: gut health, particularly the composition and function of the gut microbiota, is increasingly recognized as essential for overall well-being. non-digestible oligosaccharides are established prebiotics that stimulate beneficial gut bacteria; however, excessive intake may cause gastrointestinal discomfort. this study aimed to determine the minimum effective dose of lactulose using 16s rrna gene sequencing to support safe and sustainable dietary applications. methods: in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 100 healthy japanese adults received lactulose (500 mg/day) or placebo for 28 days, separated by a 14-day washout period. the relative abundance of bifidobacterium was analyzed using a linear mixed model with centered log-ratio transformation. results: as a result of the analyses conducted on the pps (per protocol set, n = 78) and fas (full analysis set, n = 99), lactulose intake significantly increased the relative abundance of bifidobacterium. overall alpha diversity remained unchanged, although participants with low baseline alpha diversity enterotypes showed a trend toward restoration of alpha diversity. no adverse events or gastrointestinal symptoms, such as bloating or diarrhea, were observed, confirming the safety of lactulose. conclusions: these findings provide novel evidence that even minimal doses of lactulose can beneficially modulate the gut microbiota, notably by increasing the relative abundance of bifidobacterium without inducing laxative effects. ultra-low-dose lactulose may serve as a practical and safe functional food ingredient to support long-term gut health, and continued research on its incorporation into functional food matrices will be important. trial registration: the study protocol was registered with umin-ctr (id: umin000055862). keywords: lactulose; prebiotics; bifidobacterium; improving gut microbiota, gastrointestinal health downloads [abstract] [full article] [supplementary data] published 2025-12-09 issue vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 ryo sakiyama, seiya miyashita, manabu nakano, miyuki tanaka this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of seabuckthorn juice consumption on erythropoietin production, fatigue, and quality of life in women: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 / research articles effects of seabuckthorn juice consumption on erythropoietin production, fatigue, and quality of life in women: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study authors yang jianbiao moritsune sofue naomi sakamoto masako matsumoto wang duanyang maki nagata kuniyoshi shimizu shiori tanaka shigenori nibun ryuji takeda doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i10.1710 abstract background: seabuckthorn (hippophae rhamnoides l.) has attracted interest for mitigating transient fatigue, but clinical evidence remains limited. although a few preliminary reports suggest potential benefits for fatigue and quality of life, high-quality clinical data are scarce: prior studies have often been small, nonrandomized or open-label, short in duration, and used heterogeneous endpoints with a risk of bias, and preregistered rcts are rare. this study aimed to address these gaps. objective: to evaluate the effects of seabuckthorn juice on fatigue and quality of life (qol) in premenopausal women and to explore a mechanistic link via erythropoietin (epo) induction. methods: we conducted an 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial to evaluate the anti-fatigue and quality-of-life effects of seabuckthorn juice. sixty healthy premenopausal women (20–50 years) with stable menstrual cycles, desk-bound jobs, and transient fatigue with decreased vitality were randomized 1:1 to seabuckthorn juice or a matched control juice. the primary endpoint was profile of mood states 2 (poms2) scores. secondary endpoints included hematologic indices (hemoglobin [hb], ferritin, iron-binding capacity), serum erythropoietin (epo), visual analog scale (vas) fatigue after a kraepelin test load, and stress response scale-18 (srs-18). a mechanistic in-vitro substudy tested isorhamnetin (a seabuckthorn flavonol) for epo induction in hepg2 cells. results: compared with placebo, seabuckthorn juice significantly improved poms2 outcomes at week 8, showing lower total mood disturbance, fatigue-related scores, higher vitality/energy, and friendliness subscales. hematologic endpoints favored seabuckthorn: ferritin, hb, and epo were significantly higher at weeks 4 and 8, with greater changes from baseline versus placebo. vas-rated fatigue after the kraepelin task was significantly reduced in the seabuckthorn group at weeks 4 and 8. in vitro, isorhamnetin increased epo production in hepg2 cells, supporting biological plausibility. conclusion: eight weeks of seabuckthorn juice consumption improved mood-related fatigue metrics and quality of life, enhanced blood health via increased epo and hb, and reduced work-related fatigue in premenopausal women; in-vitro findings suggest isorhamnetin-mediated epo induction as a potential mechanism. keywords: saji; sea buckthorn; qol; poms2; hb; erythropoietin downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-10-23 issue vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com elemental analysis and ecological safety assessment of nutritive herb ziziphora clinopodioides lam . cultivated and wild growing in the south-caucasian flora | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles elemental analysis and ecological safety assessment of nutritive herb ziziphora clinopodioides lam. cultivated and wild growing in the south-caucasian flora authors greta r. ulikhanyan vahe g. hovhannisyan naira i. arshakyan astghik a. altunyan nelli h. ghukasyan arshaluys m. ghazaryan karine h. dumanyan gayane m. poghosyan hrachya g. hovhannisyan lusine danielyan ruzanna harutyunyan sona feschyan maya hovsepyan siranush mkrtchyan viktoria kyslychenko naira chichoyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1489 abstract background: today, the use of mathematical modeling is crucial in assessing the ecological safety of nutritive herbs. the aim of our research was to examine the mineral composition and assess the ecological purity of raw materials from ziziphora clinopodioides lam., collected across various natural and climatic zones in the south caucasus region. objective: to conduct an elemental analysis of the mineral composition and assess the ecological safety of nutritive plant raw materials derived from ziziphora clinopodioides lam. methods: the analysis was performed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (icp-oes) instrument, with results reported in micrograms per gram. a multi-standard approach with various dilutions was employed to investigate the quantities of elemental content. the elemental analysis of the obtained ash mass was conducted utilizing the agilent 5800 vdv icp-oes instrument ( usa). mathematical modeling techniques, including correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis, were used in the study.  results: experimental data unequivocally demonstrated that the concentration of heavy metals in all analyzed z. clinopodioides samples falls within the established limits of maximum permissible concentrations. notably, no toxic metals such as lead (pb), arsenic (as), or cadmium (cd) were detected in any of the samples, affirming the ecological safety of the raw materials. principal component analysis yielded four predominant components, collectively accounting for 91.934% of the overall variability among 13 variables, as based on the variation in elemental concentrations. furthermore, hierarchical cluster analysis (hca) enabled the categorization of plant raw material samples into three distinct groups, contingent on the geographical origins of the areas and the methods of cultivation. conclusions: chemometric analysis conclusively demonstrates that the variation in elemental composition within the examined samples, as well as the plant's capacity to accumulate biologically active compounds, is contingent not solely upon the altitude of the growth locations above sea level but also by the conditions of cultivation and introduction. keywords: ziziphora clinopodioides lam., nutritive herbs, ash, chemometric approaches, correlation analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, optical emission spectrum downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-22 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com evaluation and comparative studies of the dissolution profiles of gummi armeniacae and pvp-containing acetaminophen tablets | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 / research articles evaluation and comparative studies of the dissolution profiles of gummi armeniacae and pvp-containing acetaminophen tablets authors lianna pstikyan bagrat yenokyan hovhannes ghazaryan felanna sargsyan ani ghazaryan arusyak zhamharyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i10.1732 abstract background: prunus armeniaca gum is a functional food ingredient with beneficial antioxidant properties. as a natural polymer, like different gums, it possesses high binding capacity as well as other pleasing properties like preservatives, fillers, and sustained release. the usage of apricot gum as a food and pharmacy formulation additive provides a more economical option than synthetic polymers like polyvinylpyrrolidone (pvp). gummi armeniacae, similar to gummi arabica, is widely used as an excipient in the pharmaceutical and food industries. objectives: this study aimed to formulate 50 mg acetaminophen tablets using either gummi armeniacae or pvp as a binder and compare their dissolution profiles in different media. methods: for research purposes, the purified and standardized gummi armeniaca collected from the arzni region was used. acetaminophen 50 mg, and the pvp or gummi armeniacae as a binder, containing tablets, were produced at the “arpimed” pharmaceutical llc. the characterization of the obtained tablets was conducted according to the tablet's usp quality requirements. the dissolution profiles of acetaminophen 50 mg tablets were carried out according to who guidance (the paddle speed was 75 rpm, the temperature was 37±0.5°c, and the dissolution media volume was 900 ml) in three dissolution media with ph 1.2, 4.5, and 6.8.  results: at arpimed pharmaceutical company, two series of 50 mg acetaminophen tablets with two different compositions were produced (pvp k30 and standardized powder of gummi armeniacae). the results of general tablet quality testing procedures, including average mass, uniformity of mass, thickness, diameter, assay, friability, and disintegration time, corresponded to usp requirements. pvp and gummi armeniacae containing acetaminophen 50 mg tablets exhibited high solubility in three different (ph 1.2, 4.5, 6.8) dissolution media (≥85% of the labeled amount of drug in 30 minutes). furthermore, the comparative dissolution profile study indicates that tablets containing gummi armeniacae dissolve rapidly in hydrochloric acid media at ph 1.2. moreover, the rate of acetaminophen dissolution from this formulation decreases as the ph shifts from 1.2 to 6.8. conclusions: tablets containing gummi armeniacae as a binder possess ph-dependent drug substance release from tablets. further studies could recommend it as a bonding excipient for the tablet manufacturing process.  keywords: gummi armeniacae, acetaminophen tablets, binder, dissolution profile, pvp downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-10-11 issue vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com vitamin a and d3 combinations reduce breast cancer tumor load in a postmenopausal mcf-7 xenograft mouse model in a doseand timedependent manner | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 / research articles vitamin a and d3 combinations reduce breast cancer tumor load in a postmenopausal mcf-7 xenograft mouse model in a doseand timedependent manner authors nishikant a. raut temitope o. lawal bolanle a. adeniyi pinal n. kanabar mark maienschein-cline nina s. los zarema arbieva gail b. mahady doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i12.1523 abstract introduction: earlier, we documented that a combination of vitamins a and d3 synergistically inhibited the growth of mcf-7, t48:a18 and skbr3 breast cancer cells with the best activity seen in the er+ cell line mcf-7. transcriptomic analysis of treated mcf-7 cells also showed that the combination significantly upregulated the apoptosis and unfolded protein response canonical pathways, and reduced estrogen signaling. objective: this study aimed to explore the impact of increasing vitamin a and d3 dose combinations over time in a postmenopausal model of breast cancer using ovariectomized athymic female mice bearing mcf-7 xenografts and further analyze mechanisms of action in mcf-7 cells using rna-seq analysis. methods: mcf-7 breast cancer cells were grown in culture for the xenograft experiments. athymic female mice were injected with mcf-7 cells (1 x 10^6 in 100 µl of 50% matrigel mixed with sterile pbs) via subcutaneous injection. once the tumors reached an average volume of 100 mm³, the mice were randomly divided into four groups and treated with different vitamin a and d3 combinations. tumor sizes and mouse body weights were monitored on a biweekly basis. after the treatment period, the mice were euthanized, and the tumors were surgically removed and measured. rna-seq data from the treated mcf-7 cells were then further evaluated using ipa.  results: as compared with controls, treatment with vitamin a (25,000 iu) and vitamin d (10,000 iu) led to a significant reduction in tumor volume >70%, (p < 0.05-0.01) in ovx athymic mice with mcf-7 xenografts as determined by a two-tailed student t test. over the treatment period, the tumor volume in mice treated with vitamin a (10,000 iu) and vitamin d (5,000 iu) or vitamin a (25,000 iu) and vitamin d (5,000 iu) also trended downward and was statistically significant using one-way analysis of variance (anova) followed by dunnett’s multiple comparison test (p<0.05 and p<0.0001, respectively) but was not significant using a two-tailed student t test. in cultured mcf-7 cells, ingenuity pathway analysis of mrna-seq data showed that the vitamin a and d combination significantly altered the expression of 101 genes out of 864 in the molecular mechanisms in cancer canonical pathway, downregulating gene expression in the integrin/p13k/akt/mtor pathway. conclusions: the findings showed that the combination of vitamins a and d3 effectively reduced tumor burden in a postmenopausal mcf-7 xenograft mouse model, with effects that were both dose-dependent and time-dependent. the combination also significantly altered the expression of genes in the molecular mechanisms of cancer canonical pathway in cultured mcf-7 cells. these preclinical data support the use of vitamins a and d3 in the management of estrogen-dependent breast cancers, with the caveat that higher doses and longer treatment periods may be needed to observe anti-tumor effects. keywords: apoptosis, autophagy, breast cancer, cell cycle, integrin, postmenopausal, p13k, tumor load, xenograft downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-12-18 issue vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com assessment of vitaminand mineral-content stability of tomato fruits as a potential raw material to produce functional food | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 / research articles assessment of vitaminand mineral-content stability of tomato fruits as a potential raw material to produce functional food authors zharkova irina pochitskaya irina efremov dmitriy plotnikova inessa chusova alla pronkina alena harutyunyan natalya doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1259 abstract background: tomatoes are a valuable source of biologically active substances (vitamin c, lycopene, lutein, macroand microelements) and can be used to produce functional foods. objective: nine varieties of tomato fruits, featuring a spectrum of colors such as red, yellow, and dark hues (brown, burgundy), were examined. these tomatoes were cultivated in open ground in both the russian federation and the republic of belarus.  methods: the mineral composition of tomato fruit samples was determined using an atomic emission spectrometer with inductively coupled plasma, mass fractions of vitamin c and carotenoids were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. results: the highest vitamin c content was observed in the fruits of tomato varieties viagra and chocolate, cultivated in the villages of khokhol and nikonovo in the voronezh region, russia, and in the variety budenovka, grown in nikonovo. additionally, the highest lycopene content was identified in the fruits of the black prince, cultivated in the agro-town samokhvalovichi, belarus; volgogradskiy skorospelyi, grown in nikonovo; bull's heart, cultivated in khokhol in the voronezh region, russia; and black heart of bull, cultivated in khokhol and nikonovo respectively. notably, tomatoes of the varieties the black prince (agro-town samokhvalovichi, belarus), chocolate, black heart of bull, and bull's heart (khokhol, russia) exhibited a significant amount of lutein. furthermore, tomatoes of the variety budenovka, grown in khokhol, russia, displayed high mineral saturation. varieties bull's heart and black heart of bull, grown in the same region, were found to be rich in macroand trace elements (k, ca, mg, p, mn, fe). the optimal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (1:1.5) was observed in varieties bull's forehead, black heart of bull, and budenovka, while the optimal calcium-to-magnesium ratio (1:0.7) was present in the fruits of tomato varieties volgogradskiy skorospelyi, bull's forehead, budenovka, black heart of bull, bull's heart, and orange, grown in various regions of the russian federation.  conclusion: the inclusion of biologically active substances, notably lycopene, lutein, vitamin c, and essential minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus), positions tomatoes as valuable sources for developing functional foods and those designed to prevent cardiovascular diseases. the composition of tomatoes varies significantly based on the fruit's color and the cultivation location. this variability underscores the importance of considering these factors to achieve the desired level of functional ingredients in the final product. keywords: tomato fruits, biologically active substances, vitamin c, lycopene, lutein, macroand microelements. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-01-08 issue vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of torch ginger (etlingera elatior) inflorescence extract after in vitro simulated digestion | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 / research articles phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of torch ginger (etlingera elatior) inflorescence extract after in vitro simulated digestion authors miftah mutmainah yunika mayangsari umar santoso worrapanit chansuwan nualpun sirinupong doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i7.1382 abstract background: torch ginger (etlingera elatior) is an edible flower whose inflorescence is utlized for culinary purposes to enchance the taste of traditional dishes containing polyphenols and antioxidant compounds. however, investigation on the phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of torch ginger inflorescence extract following simulated gastrointesinal digestion is still limited. objective: this study aims to determine the phytochemical profile and evaluate the antioxidant activity of the inflorescence extract after in vitro simulated digestion. methods: torch ginger inflorescence (tgi) was extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction with different solvents (water,50%, and 80% aqueous ethanol). total phenolics content (tpc), total flavonoid content (tfc), and antioxidant activity were determined by orac, dpph, frap, and metal ion (fe2+) chelating activity. the solvent extraction that gave the highest value of tpc, tfc, and antioxidant activities was used for an in vitro digestion and identification of phytochemicals profile by lc-esi-qtof-ms/ms. furthermore, the tpc, tfc, and antioxidant capacities of digested tgi extract were compared to those of undigested extract. results: tgi contained 90.24% moisture. the 80% aqueous ethanol extract exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity, with an orac value of 1,156.61 ± 11.55 mm te/g extract, dpph radical scavenging capacity of 1,087.68 ± 14.37 mm te/g extract, frap value of 799.30 ± 1.45 mm te/g extract, and fe2+ chelating capacity of 42.32 ± 3.48% /mg extract. the 39 phytochemicals were identified for 9 flavonoids and 5 phenolic acids. the putative bioactive compounds for antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anticholesterol were detected in tgie, such as catechin, 2-hydroxycinnamic acid, astragalin, chlorogenic acid, coumarin, and procyanidin b2. after passing through an in vitro simulated mouth, gastric, and intestinal digestion, the tgi extract exhibited higher values of tpc, tfc, and antioxidative capacities than the undigested extract. conclusion: this study reviewed the phytochemical components presented in the 80% aqueous ethanol tgie. the expressed antioxidant capacity was increased when the tgie passed through the in vitro simulated digestion, which could potentially represent a promising source of endogenous antioxidants in food and nutraceutical applications. keywords: antioxidant, edible flower, gastrointestinal digestion, phytochemicals, torch ginger inflorescence downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-07-24 issue vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com novel functional confectionery: incorporating blueberry extract for nutritional enhancement and quality improvement | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 / research articles novel functional confectionery: incorporating blueberry extract for nutritional enhancement and quality improvement authors slavik dadayan lilit arstamyan danik martirosyan аsya badalyan hegine mkhitaryan syuzanna abrahamyan kristine khanamiryan galust petrosyan liana grigoryan valery grigoryan armen solomonyan ani dadayan narine hovhannisyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i8.1746 abstract background: blueberries are renowned for their rich composition of beneficial ingredients, including essential organic acids such as citric, lactic, malic, and succinic acids. they also contain numerous vital minerals essential for normal physiological functioning, such as iron, potassium, manganese, copper, sulfur, phosphorus, chromium, and zinc, with manganese content being particularly exceptional among plants. furthermore, these berries provide carotene (a precursor to vitamin a), b vitamins, vitamin c, vitamin pp, and tannins. they are particularly rich in flavonoids, which are potent natural antioxidants. literature shows the beneficial role of blueberries and blueberry extract in human consumption, highlighting their importance in promoting a healthy diet. however, blueberry by-products in confectionery production remain widely underutilized. characterizing this opportunity to enhance confectionery products with functional food qualities may significantly improve the nutritional profile of flour-based products, such as muffins. evaluating different qualitative doses can help optimize health benefits while supporting the development of a novel category of functional muffins. objective: this research aimed to utilize blueberry extract as a functional ingredient for the development of a novel confectionery product. a key objective was to scientifically substantiate the positive effects of this extract on the chemical composition and overall quality of cupcakes. one of the main objectives of this study is to increase the content of essential minerals in food through the addition of blueberry extract and, by doing so, increase its functional properties. materials and methods: blueberry samples were sourced from the aparan region, where preliminary studies revealed a high concentration of valuable compounds within them. subsequent investigations focused on determining comparative indicators of quality and anthocyanin content in fresh fruit extracts via direct spectrometry. environmentally friendly extracts were prepared with minimized levels of potentially undesirable macroand microelements (e.g., fe, cu, zn, ca, mg, mn, co, cd, v, se, cr, as, pb) through ion-exchange sorption and desorption. all research utilized highly precise, state-of-the-art equipment. raw materials and finished products were analyzed using the gravimetric method with kern analytical balances (accuracy 0.95), while vitamin and mineral compositions were determined via an integrated hplc system. results: during the study, various forms of blueberry extract were prepared. the extract was used in two forms: powder and liquid solution. subsequently, three distinct application dosages were tested, and the qualitative parameters of each resulting cupcake sample were analyzed. the optimal application option was identified, successfully increasing the micronutrient content of the cupcakes while preserving their desirable physicochemical parameters. novelty: this study pioneers the systematic incorporation of blueberry fruit extract, in both powder and liquid forms, into flour-based confectionery products (muffins) to create novel functional foods. the research extends beyond simple addition by optimizing the extract's dosage to enhance the micronutrient profile (including anthocyanins and tannins) while simultaneously demonstrating a positive effect on key physicochemical parameters such as cupcake volume, thus maintaining the balance between nutritional enrichment and product quality.        as a scientific novelty, it can be observed that with the addition of blueberry extract and a reduction in the corresponding amount of flour, it was possible to reduce the nutritional value of the new product. conclusion: blueberry fruit extract, rich in anthocyanins, tannins, and other valuable compounds, was successfully utilized to produce functional muffins. this resulted in a new type of food product characterized by an enriched nutritional composition. the research also demonstrated that the extract's application positively influenced cupcake volume, a crucial quality indicator for such products. keywords: blueberry, extract, new technology for muffins, bioactive compounds, functional products. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-08-19 issue vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of consuming s-allyl-l-cysteine enriched garlic extract on sleep quality in japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 / research articles effects of consuming s-allyl-l-cysteine enriched garlic extract on sleep quality in japanese adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study authors wakana hideshima naoko suzuki tsuyoshi takara isafumi maru doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i1.1493 abstract introduction: sleep promotes well-being, which includes physical and mental health, but many people suffer from sleep deprivation. one of the functional components of garlic, s-allyl-l-cysteine (sac), can reportedly improve mental fatigue and is expected to regulate the autonomic nervous system and improve sleep quality. this study investigated the effects of sac-enriched garlic extract intake on sleep quality in healthy japanese adults. methods: this was a single center, stratified (male and female with balanced randomization [1:1]), double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study conducted from september 12, 2023, to february 25, 2024. participants consumed either the sac-enriched garlic extract tablet (2 mg/day as sac) or placebo (22 participants per group) for 12 weeks. the assessment items included the oguri-shirakawa-azumi sleep inventory middle-aged version (osa-ma), the japanese version of the pittsburgh sleep quality index (psqi-j), and st. mary’s hospital sleep questionnaire (smh). the primary outcome was the initiation and maintenance of sleep as measured by the osa-ma after the 12-week intervention. results: the final analysis included 19 and 22 participants in the sac and placebo groups, respectively. an additional subgroup analysis explored the effect of sac intake on sleep quality, with 14 and 19 participants in the sac and placebo groups, respectively. after the 12-week intervention, the overall analysis showed no significant differences between groups for the primary outcome. in the subgroup analysis, however, the “initiation and maintenance of sleep” and “sleepiness on rising” scores in the osa-ma significantly increased in the sac group versus placebo. both the overall and subgroup analyses revealed a decreased total score, subjective sleep quality (c1), and sleep latency (c2) of psqi-j in the sac group versus placebo. regarding the question “how much difficulty did you have in falling asleep last night?” in the smh, more participants in the sac group reported “none or very little” in the overall analysis, while all participants reported “none or very little” in the subgroup analysis after the intervention. conclusions: sac-enriched garlic extract relieves difficulties associated with initiating and maintaining sleep. keywords: garlic, s-allyl-l-cysteine, sleep quality, falling asleep, sleep maintenance trial registration number: umin000052187 downloads [abstract] [full article] [supplementary data] published 2025-01-24 issue vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com maternal egcg intervention mitigates chronic hypertension during pregnancy in spontaneously hypertensive rats without adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles maternal egcg intervention mitigates chronic hypertension during pregnancy in spontaneously hypertensive rats without adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes authors yang shao siew-keah lee ang-lim chua yik-ling chew kai bin liew doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1453 abstract background: chronic hypertension during pregnancy is a significant concern, associated with increased risks of maternal-fetal morbidity and mortality. epigallocatechin gallate (egcg), a compound known for its cardioprotective properties, has gained attention as a potential health supplement due to its favorable safety profile. objective: this study aims to investigate the effects of maternal egcg supplementation on elevated blood pressure and pregnancy outcomes in a rodent model of chronic hypertension, specifically using spontaneously hypertensive rats (shr). furthermore, the study explores the influence of maternal egcg supplementation on the blood pressure of shr offspring during early postnatal development. methods: shr dams received oral egcg at 30 mg/kg body weight. systolic blood pressure (sbp) monitored weekly throughout gestation period and until postpartum day 21. pregnancy outcomes litter size, pup viability, and birth weights were recorded. sbp in weaned shr offspring was monitored from 5 to 13 weeks of age to assess long-term effects of maternal egcg treatment. daily cage-side observations evaluated general health, behavior, and signs of toxicity. plasma levels of alanine aminotransferase (alt), aspartate aminotransferase (ast), urea, and creatinine were analyzed to evaluate liver and kidney function. results: egcg treatment in shr dams progressively reduced maternal sbp throughout gestation and the postpartum period. however, egcg administration did not affect pregnancy outcomes (gestation duration, litter size, and birth weights). markers of liver and kidney function (alt, ast, urea, and creatinine) showed no signs of organ injury in egcg-treated groups. contrary to expectations, sbp in shr offspring exposed to perinatal egcg did not decrease compared to control groups, indicating maternal egcg did not alter the offspring's hypertension predisposition. conclusion: maternal egcg supplementation effectively lowered blood pressure in hypertensive dams without compromising pregnancy outcomes or causing liver and kidney damage. these findings suggest that egcg may be a safe cardioprotective supplement during pregnancy. however, perinatal egcg exposure did not alter the inherent genetic predisposition to hypertension in shr offspring. keywords: theaceae; camellia sinensis; green tea; catechins, egcg; hypertension, pregnancy outcomes, perinatal, spontaneously hypertensive rats, chronic hypertension during pregnancy downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-05 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com phytochemicals, antioxidant activity and nutritional profile of pulp, peel and peel fiber of mango ( mangifera indica l.) cultivar ataulfo | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 / research articles phytochemicals, antioxidant activity and nutritional profile of pulp, peel and peel fiber of mango (mangifera indica l.) cultivar ataulfo authors rosabel vélez-de la rocha josefa adriana sañudo barajas cristobal cháidez-quiróz feliznando isidro cárdenas torres elí terán cabanillas marcela de jesús vergara-jiménez doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i10.1449 abstract introduction: mango fruit and its by-products represent a very diverse and abundant source of sugars and components with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, such as dietary fiber, vitamins, and polyphenols. consuming mango pulp might reduce health disorders caused by inflammatory and oxidative processes such as obesity related diseases. mango and its by-products contain compounds that can either promote or neutralize inflammatory and oxidative environments; variations in their composition may directly influence the degree of bioactivity. this work aimed to analyze the nutritional and nutraceutical profiles presented in the three different mango by-products to know their possible nutraceutical potential. objective: this work aimed to analyze the nutritional and nutraceutical profiles presented in the three different mango by-products to know their possible nutraceutical potential. methods: ripe ataulfo mango products (pulp, peel, and peel fiber) were evaluated for nutritional composition by aoac methods. β-carotene and ascorbic acid were analyzed by uv-vis liquid chromatography (lc), while mangiferin, phenolics and flavonoids by lc coupled to mass spectrometer detector. the antioxidant capacity was correlated to each of the bioactive compounds. results: ripe ataulfo mango products (pulp, peel, and peel fiber) were evaluated for nutritional, antioxidant, and phytochemical characteristics. all the by-products demonstrated significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in nutritional and chemical composition. mango peel had the highest β-carotene, vitamin c, and mangiferin values. mango pulp had the highest values for free sugars (73 g 100 g-1), but low phytochemicals values, contrasting the peel fiber with 81% of total dietary fiber but minimum values of free sugars and β-carotene and no vitamin c. the highest antioxidant capacity was presented for mango peel. results obtained from this study indicate that the mango ataulfo pulp and by-products are divergent and represent a good source of bioactive compounds.  conclusions: mango peel composition is a natural combination of high concentrations of mangiferin, flavonoids, phenolic acids, vitamin c, provitamin a, and dietary fiber, all involved with inflammation and cell oxidative stress-related disease control and prevention. however, mango peel exhibited the most significant nutraceutical potential due to its high antioxidant capacity. keywords: mangifera indica l.; mango ataulfo; mangiferin; flavonoids; phytochemicals; bioactive compounds downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-10-15 issue vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of sour cherry fruits on platelet aggregation and arterialblood pressure | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 / research articles effects of sour cherry fruits on platelet aggregation and arterialblood pressure authors shamilyan knarik topchyan hakob zhamharyan arusyak poghosyan varduhi pstikyan taguhi avetyan melina melkonyan arthur balasanyan marine doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i8.1402 abstract background: the pivotal roles that platelet aggregation and hypertension play in the pathogenesis of ischemic disorders have emphasized the importance of antiplatelet and antihypertensive agents in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the leading causes of disability worldwide. despite the abundance of these drug groups, finding new agents with fewer side effects and complications continues to be an important mission in modern medicine. to combat the adverse effects of manufactured medications, plants could be promising sources for new remedies. one such plant, the sour cherry, can serve as a source for new antiplatelet and antihypertensive medications considering its rich content of anthocyanins, flavonoids, and organic acids. objectives: the purpose of this study was to investigate the antiplatelet and antihypertensive effects of armenian sour cherries. results: it has been revealed that sour cherries contain properties that can be incorporated into antiplatelet and antihypertensive remedies. conducted observation shows that after 3 hours of sour cherry intake, the amplitude of aggregation (a6) was reduced by 40.2±17.21% (p<0.05), the maximal slope of aggregation by 41.1±14.6% (p<0.05,) and the area under the curve by 50.3±19.75% (p<0.05) in comparison to the negative control. measuring the same indicators after 5 hours demonstrated that the effect of the sour cherry on the aggregation process was inferior compared to the 3rd hour data, remaining less than the same characteristics of the negative control. after 5 hours the reduction of aggregation amplitude, the maximum slope and area under the curve compared with the control, were 29.84±8.27% (p<0.05), 39.29 ±11.74% (p<0.05) and 36.18±19.13% (p<0.05), respectively. the investigation of sour cherries’ effects on animals’ blood pressures demonstrates that intraperitoneal injection of freeze-dried sour cherry solution was accompanied by changes in blood pressure indicators and the animals’ heart rates. systolic blood pressure values after administration of sour cherry fruits began reducing from the 10th minute of the experiment and reached maximal reduction at the 40th minute by 15.3%. after the 40th minute, the tendency of recovery for systolic blood pressure values, which remained less than 0hour values even at 90th minute of the experiment, were registered. maximum reduction (14.2 %) of diastolic blood pressure values takes place at the 20th minute and continues to be less than control values until the 90th minute of the experiment. calculations of mean arterial pressure values demonstrated similar changes with the same tendency. heart rate changes followed the fall of arterial pressure, increasing by 27.7 beats per minute at the 50th minute of the experiment. conclusion: the presented investigation proves sour cherry fruits as functional foods with antiplatelet and antihypertensive effects which opens up perspectives in the search for new, safe agents in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and stroke based on functional food properties. this obtained data could serve as a platform for the development of a new dosage in the form of freeze-dried sour cherries with the possibility of a highly preserved content of biologically active substances. keywords: sour cherry fruits, antiplatelet activity, antihypertensive action downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-08-30 issue vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com pharmacochemical investigation of rosmarinus officinalis l. cultivated by clonal micropropagation and hydroponic combined method | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 / research articles pharmacochemical investigation of rosmarinus officinalis l. cultivated by clonal micropropagation and hydroponic combined method authors anush vardanyan stepan mairapetyan anna tadevosyan armenuhi asatryan artur matevosyan laura ghalachyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i1.1526 abstract background: rosemary rosmarinus (r.) officinalis l. is a versatile herb that plays an important role in functional foods and offers various health benefits through its bioactive compounds (bac). rosemary is an evergreen shrub native to the mediterranean region and has been a popular aromatic, medicinal, and culinary herb since ancient times. extracts and essential oils of r. officinalis are popular for their exceptional antioxidants and antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. r. officinalis tops the list of known natural antioxidants in the food industry. bacs from rosemary are used in various foods: edible oils, shelf-stable beverages, and meat products. rosemary's phenolic compounds have immunostimulant and strong antioxidant properties. in addition, rosemary extract in combination with ascorbic acid has a synergistic effect with excellent antioxidant properties. recently, the development of in vitro tissue culture and hydroponic technologies has contributed to introducing and producing healthy planting materials of exotic, aromatic, and pharmacologically valuable plant species in many countries worldwide. in vitro micropropagation has several distinct advantages, including producing large numbers of seedlings in a relatively short time due to the usually high propagation rates. micropropagation can be carried out at any time of the year. the plants produced in vitro are generally free from microbial diseases and valuable genotypes can be freed from plant viruses. the method is based on utilizing the unique totipotency of plants, where tissues under the exogenous influence of physical and chemical factors initiate the formation of a completely new plant. hydroponic cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants is an innovative agrobiotechnology for growing plants without soil and is becoming increasingly popular. it offers many advantages that can increase the quality and sustainability of rosemary as a functional food. objective: to implement a combined method of in vitro clonal micropropagation and hydroponics to obtain r. officinalis plant material with improved properties. methods: the experiments were carried out using tissue culture and hydroponic methods. in tissue culture, explants were propagated on murashige and skооg (ms) mеdium (ph 5.8) supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of cytokinins and auxins, carbohydrates (15-30 g/l), and agar-agar (0.6 %). various concentrations of growth regulators: 6-benzylaminourine (ваp), indоlе-3-butуric асid (iва), аnd α-nарhthаlеnеасеtiс aсid (α-nаа), wеrе usеd for cаllus induсtiоn аnd shооt multiplicаtiоn. the plants in hydroponics were fed twice daily with davtian nutrient solution. the content of phenolic compounds and β-carotene was determined spectrophotometrically (agilent cary 60 uv-vis spectrophotometer) and the vitamin c content was determined by titrimetric method. the essential oil of r. officinalis was isolated by water distillation from fresh plant material during the flowering period.  results: the results showed that cоnсеntrаtiоns оf 0.5 mg/l α-naa аnd 1.0 mg/l ваp in ms mеdium stimulаtеd саllоgenеsis, fоllоwеd by оrgаnоgеnеsis with 5-6 аdvеntitiоus shооts. clоnаl miсrоprоpаgаtiоn оn ms mеdium with hаlf mаcrоаnd miсrоnutriеnt cоncеntrаtiоns оf 0.2 mg/l аnd 0.3 mg/l iва stimulаtеd 80 аnd 95% rооt fоrmаtiоn, rеspеctivеly. thе survivаl rаtе during the аcclimаtizаtiоn of rоsemаry micrоplаnts in outdoor hydrоpоnics аnd sоil cоnditiоns wаs 89 and 70%, rеspеctivеly. in hydrоpоnic plаnts, thе cоntеnt оf tоtаl flаvоnоids, rutin аnd quеrсеtin ехcееdеd thаt оf sоil-grоwn plаnts by 1.5, 1.4 аnd 1.2 timеs rеspесtivеly. in hydrоpоniсs аnd sоil rosemary, thе phеnоlic асids fоrmеd thе fоllоwing dеcrеаsing sеriеs: chlоrоgеnic аcid > rоsmаriniс асid > gаlliс асid > саffеiс асid, with сhlоrоgеniс асid еxсееding rоsmаriniс, gаlliс and саffеiс асids by 1.4 аnd 1.5 timеs; 2.4 аnd 2.5 timеs; 2.5 and 2.8 times, rеspеctivеly.  vitamin c content was 1.3 times higher in hydroponic plants of r. officinalis than in soil-grown plants, while the content of β-carotene showed no significant differences. in the fresh leaves of hydroponically grown rosemary the essential oil content was 0.2 %, which is 1.7 times higher than in soil-grown ones. conclusion: the combined method of clonal micropropagation and hydroponics can produce healthy rosemary plant material, which can serve as a rich source of bac and essential oil for use in antioxidant herbal teas, spices, food supplements, cosmetics, etc. keywords: in vitro culture, micro plants, bac, flavonoids, phenolic acids, essential oil downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-01-07 issue vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the study of stabilizing food enzymes using b-cyclodextrins | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 9 (2024): september 2024 / research articles the study of stabilizing food enzymes using b-cyclodextrins authors l.i. karavaeva a.n.kucherenko (sercova) r.v.rudi m. d.bulanov n.v. glazova e.i.kiprushkina doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i9.1384 abstract background: today, biologically active additives, which contain hydrolytic enzymes (amylase, lipase, protease), are widely used in the digestive industry. these enzymes are often obtained from animal and vegetable raw materials, -for example, from the pancreas of a reindeer, the fabricius bag of chickens, and medusomyces gisevii lindau (kombucha). however, in obtaining enzymes, the activity of amylase and lipase may decrease due to active forms --of proteases. objective: the main goal of this research work was to evaluate the stabilizing effect of nanostructures–cyclodextrins on the activity of hydrolytic enzymes (protease, amylase, lipase) obtained from animal raw material (chicken bursa of fabricius) and microorganism cultures (kombucha). identify the relationship at which the negative influence of external environmental factors is leveled and, as a result, enzymatic activity is maintained for a certain period of time. methods: the protein concentration in the solution was determined using the lowry method. a modified method by rukhlyadiva was used to determine the amylolytic activity. the definition of lipolytic activity is based on modified shibabi-bishop method. to determine the amylolytic activity, a modified method by rukhlyadiva was used. results: the relationship between b-cyclodextrin and enzymes was determined, at which enzymatic activity is maintained for a certain period. conclusion: thus, cyclodextrins in solution stabilizes the activity of proteases, amylases, and lipases, which is of great practical importance in the food and pharmaceutical industries. keywords: kombucha, pancreas, enzymes, amylase, lipase, protease, cyclodextrins downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-09-16 issue vol. 14 no. 9 (2024): september 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a novel amino acid mixture containing isoleucine, glycine, and cystine improves insulin sensitivity with restoring mitochondrial oxygen consumption in c2c12 myotubes | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 / research articles a novel amino acid mixture containing isoleucine, glycine, and cystine improves insulin sensitivity with restoring mitochondrial oxygen consumption in c2c12 myotubes authors kyoko miura mai hasumura yoshiro kitahara shinobu nishitani yoji yamada doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i4.1582 abstract background: saturated fatty acids facilitate insulin insensitivity within peripheral tissues, which have been linked to the development of metabolic syndrome. although some amino acids are involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism, their effect on insulin sensitivity remains unclear. this study investigated the effect of amino acids on the restoration of ffa-induced insulin insensitivity using c2c12 skeletal muscle cells.  methods: c2c12 myotubes were treated with 0.5 mm palmitate overnight. then, 1 mm of each amino acid was added, and the cells were incubated for an additional 18 hours. akt phosphorylation was assessed with a western blot after stimulation with 100 nm insulin. under the same conditions, glucose uptake was measured using a glucose uptake assay kit.  mitochondrial function was measured using an extracellular flux analyzer. results: palmitate treatment reduced akt phosphorylation to 40% of the control levels. however, among 17 amino acids evaluated, isoleucine (i), glycine (g), and cystine (c) restored akt phosphorylation successfully. under the same conditions, glucose uptake was reduced by palmitate.  a mixture of i, g, and c (igc) were found to restore glucose uptake. in addition, palmitate decreased oxygen consumption and atp production in c2c12 mitochondria, as determined by the seahorse system, which is an extracellular flux analyzer. igc was also found to restore mitochondrial function. conclusions: the data collected in this study suggest that an appropriate amino acid mixture consisting of i, g and c may restore insulin signaling and glucose utilization suppressed by ffa. this was also found to restore mitochondrial oxygen consumption. novelty: this study uniquely demonstrates that a novel amino acid mixture—comprising isoleucine, glycine, and cystine (igc)—effectively restores insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial oxygen consumption in palmitate-induced insulin-resistant c2c12 myotubes. this conclusion could be used to identify a potential therapeutic strategy for metabolic dysfunction. keywords: insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial function, c2c12 myotubes, amino acid mixtures, isoleucine, glycine, cystine downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-04-12 issue vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional evaluation of spirulina extract: antioxidant properties and immune regulation in aged mice models | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 / research articles functional evaluation of spirulina extract: antioxidant properties and immune regulation in aged mice models authors chi-hsien liu yi-chien ho jing-ping wang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i6.1634 abstract background: spirulina platensis is a cyanobacterium rich in protein, commonly regarded as a functional food due to its exceptional nutritional profile. among its components, phycocyanin (a water-soluble pigment-protein complex) has gained attention for its strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and liver-protective properties. both oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are key drivers of the aging process and play major roles in the development of disease, namely metabolic syndromes and neurodegenerative disorders. although spirulina has been widely studied for its health-promoting effects, its precise role in regulating systemic redox balance and modulating age-related immune responses remains insufficiently explored. this study aims to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of spirulina extract through in vitro assays and a murine aging model. methods: spirulina extract was prepared via enzymatic cell wall degradation followed by fermentation. antioxidant activity was measured in vitro through four key assays: reducing power, total antioxidant capacity, dpph radical scavenging, and superoxide anion scavenging. additionally, young and middle-aged mice were orally administered spirulina extract at a dose of 7 mg per day for 28 days. blood samples were collected to assess levels of gssg and cytokines associated with th1/th2 immune regulation. results: in vitro assays showed strong antioxidant activities, particularly dpph radical scavenging (88.58 ± 3.68%). spirulina extract significantly increased the gsh/gssg ratio in middle-aged mice, indicating improved antioxidant status, while no changes were seen in young mice. additionally, spirulina upregulated th1 cytokines and downregulated th2 cytokines in middle-aged mice, with significant reductions in il-6 and -10. spirulina extract demonstrated potent antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects, alleviating oxidative stress and correcting th1/th2 imbalance during aging. these results support its potential as a supplement for promoting healthy aging in the mouse model. conclusion: combining cell-based experiments with an aging mouse model, this research reveals new perspectives on spirulina’s impact on maintaining redox balance and modulating immune function. the results indicate that spirulina extract could be a beneficial supplement for addressing oxidative stress and immune aging during midlife. further clinical studies are warranted to explore its potential as a functional food or nutraceutical aimed at reducing age-associated immune dysfunction and inflammation. keywords: spirulina extract, antioxidant activity, cytokine, immune regulation. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-06-19 issue vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com in vitro antioxidant and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities of coriander (coriandrum sativum l.) root extracts | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 / research articles in vitro antioxidant and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities of coriander (coriandrum sativum l.) root extracts authors lanlita choochuntra thanutchaporn nutmakul savita chewchinda jintana sirivarasai rodjana chunhabundit doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i6.1377 abstract background: coriander (coriandrum sativum l.) is a versatile culinary herb known for its edible leaves, seeds, stems, and roots. it is widely utilized in traditional medicine across the globe and is reputed for its diverse biological properties, including significant antioxidant and antidiabetic effects. nonetheless, the majority of research has primarily concentrated on the seeds, leaves, and stems, leaving the roots comparatively underexplored. objective: this research delved into the antioxidative capabilities and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory properties of coriander root extracts and assessed their phytochemical makeup.  methods: the coriander roots were lyophilized, pulverized to powder, and extracted using two methods:  boiling and maceration with water, 50% ethanol, or 100% ethanol. the extracts underwent assessment for antioxidant activity through abts and dpph radical scavenging methods, total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations, and inhibition of the alpha-glucosidase enzyme. in addition, their phytochemical profiles were identified and quantified by hplc.  results: among all the extracts, the 100% ethanol extract demonstrated the greatest levels of total flavonoids and phenolics, exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity against abts and dpph radicals, and showed the most potent alpha-glucosidase inhibition. notably, the boiling extract, although containing the lowest total phenolic and flavonoid contents, exhibited abts radical scavenging capacity comparable to the 100% ethanol extract. this suggested that the boiling extract might contain non-phenolic antioxidant compounds and should be further studied. additionally, hplc analysis unveiled the novel identification of benzoic acid and ferulic acid within the coriander root extracts for the first time. the highest contents of these compounds were also found in the 100% ethanol extract.   conclusion: coriander roots, a common culinary ingredient, exhibited antioxidant and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities, suggesting potential as a functional food for preventing ageand lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes and certain cancers. keywords: coriander roots, antioxidants, antidiabetics, benzoic acid, ferulic acid, hplc analysis downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-06-21 issue vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com clinical evaluation of a novel gallotannin-enriched galla rhois extract (gre) on vital cognitive functions in healthy volunteers: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 / research articles clinical evaluation of a novel gallotannin-enriched galla rhois extract (gre) on vital cognitive functions in healthy volunteers: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study authors marvin heuer christopher baker michael sedlak kim jin woo kim hyun kee debasis bagchi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i10.1213 abstract background: oxidative damage has emerged as one of the significant factors in the onset of neurodegenerative disorders, primarily owing to a) higher usage of oxygen by brain cells and b) higher amounts of lipids in the neuronal membranes. together, these have resulted in higher susceptibility of brain cells to ros-induced lipid peroxidation, damage to other cellular macromolecules, including nucleic acids and proteins, and death of neurons by apoptosis, ferroptosis, and necrosis. the design of therapeutics to prevent oxidative damage-induced brain stroke or other irreversible injuries has remained a challenge owing to the continuous production of free radicals at the site of damage. in this respect, plant-derived tannins and tannic acid derivatives have exhibited promising results in scavenging free radicals and inhibiting lipid peroxidation. objective: this investigation reports the effect of ghala rois extract (gre), a methyl gallate enriched gall formed on the nutgall sumac tree, rhus javanica l. (anacardiaceae), on enhancing the cognitive function and overall well-being through a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group design study on 80 healthy adult volunteers over a period of six consecutive weeks. results: administration of gre in the dosage of 750 mg/day p.o. (with an equal amount of corn starch as a placebo) after breakfast resulted in significant improvement in cognitive functions as assessed by happyneuropro, a digital therapy tool, and the cognitive tools under mini-mental state examination (mmse), montreal cognitive assessment (moca) and adult adhd self-reported scale (asrsv1.1). concomitantly, the gre-treated subjects also scored significantly higher (p = 0.033) in the roles of physical and emotional problems, energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, and pain as evaluated by linearly independent pairwise comparisons among the estimated marginal means and computed using alpha = 0.05. in the global evaluation questionnaire, over 77% of the treated subjects believed that the product increased their attention span, and helped their memory by 70%, and they also indicated their willingness to buy the commercially available gre. evaluation of the complete metabolic profile in the gre-treated subjects significantly lowered the blood urea nitrogen (bun) (11.98 mg/dl) as compared to placebo (13.27 mg/dl) (p = 0.011) as well as sgpt/alt from 28.09 u/l (placebo) to 18.17 u/l (gre-treated) (p<0.001). however, the vital parameters, including heart rate and systolic/diastolic pressure, were not affected by the consumption of gre extract. conclusion: the study demonstrated that gre could be used as an effective new phytotherapeutic for reversing oxidative damage-induced neuronal degeneration and improving cognitive health in these study individuals. keywords: galla rhois extract (gre); rhus javanica l. (family anacardiaceae); cognitive functions; adhd; executive function; verbal memory; safety, reactive oxygen species (ros) downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-10-20 issue vol. 13 no. 10 (2023): october 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of sorghum intake on postprandial blood glucose levels: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 / research articles effect of sorghum intake on postprandial blood glucose levels: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study authors hitomi miyazaki kyushu university masumi nagae kyushu university hiroshi uchida best amenity co.,ltd. kuniyoshi shimizu kyushu university doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1266 abstract background: sorghum is consumed in africa, north and south america, india, and other parts of the world, but it is one of several millets in japan, and its physiological function for japanese is not well known. in this study, we examined the effect of sorghum on postprandial blood glucose levels in healthy japanese. objective: this study aims to investigate the effect of sorghum intake on postprandial blood glucose in healthy adults.  methods: a double-blind crossover study was done on 17 healthy adult men and women recruited from the general population. after an early morning fasting blood glucose test, a placebo or sorghum porridge was administered and blood glucose levels were measured at 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the first washout period.  result: at 60 and 120 minutes after intake, the blood glucose level of people who were administered sorghum porridge was significantly lower than that of those who were administered the placebo. the area under the blood glucose curve was also significantly lower for the test product than for the placebo.  conclusion: sorghum consumption can suppress the increase in postprandial blood glucose, suggesting that sorghum is useful in preventing the development of diabetes mellitus. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000046235 keywords: sorghum, blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-01-16 issue vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the influence of 2'-fucosyllactose on intestinal cell function: a comprehensive review of experimental studies | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 / review articles the influence of 2'-fucosyllactose on intestinal cell function: a comprehensive review of experimental studies authors eko sulistijono loeki enggar fitri krisni subandiyah husnul khotimah doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i10.1675 abstract necrotizing enterocolitis (nec) is one of the most common gastrointestinal illnesses that causes preterm neonates to die. this occurs because toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) is activated by lipopolysaccharides, and preterm newborns' intestines express tlr4 at far greater levels than those of full-term neonates. nec occurs in approximately 1 out of every 1,000 live births, with 5% to 10% incidence, and over 90% of cases are observed in infants younger than one month. certain elements in breast milk have been found to help lower the risk of nec. this systematic review aims to analyze various experimental studies related to the administration of 2’-fucosyllactose (2'fl) that have the potential to induce improvement and therapy in nec cases through intestinal cell function. there have not been many systematic reviews that specifically highlight the therapeutic effects of 2'fl on necrotizing enterocolitis (nec), most of which still address the role of human milk oligosaccharides (hmos). the results show that the search flow uses the prisma flowchart; after screening 133 titles and abstracts, 55 studies were accessed to verify the feasibility of the full text. overall, there were 5 studies selected in this study for a comprehensive review. according to the study's findings, 2'-fl, one of the hmos, has a number of advantageous impacts on the host's immune system and digestive tract. among many other advantages, hmos have been shown to boost the immunological response to vaccinations, influence the makeup of the gut microbiota, and enhance the expression of genes related to gut function. keywords: nec, hmos, 2'-fl, intestine, tlr4. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-10-06 issue vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 section review articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the potency of the green algae chlorella vulgaris and bacillus thuringiensis as biocides against spodoptera frugiperda (j.e. smith) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 / research articles the potency of the green algae chlorella vulgaris and bacillus thuringiensis as biocides against spodoptera frugiperda (j.e. smith) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) authors abeer mohammad abdel-rahim elham ashjan f. khalel heba y. ahmed doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i6.1359 abstract background: nowadays, the fall armyworm, spodoptera frugiperda (j.e. smith) faw, is the most *destructive crop pest invading maize in different countries. objective: this study holds significant implications for the field of pest management. it aims to assess the efficacy of crude algal extract of chlorella vulgaris and bacillus thuringiensis strain against the 2nd and 4th larval stages of the fall armyworm, a pest currently causing significant damage to maize crops. methods: a rigorous research process was followed, using serial concentrations of bioagents to determine the mortality percent and lc50 values via a feeding technique. results: regarding the effect on the biological aspects, lc50 values were fed to the 2nd and 4th larval instar. in addition, histological investigations were checked. the results indicated that the high mortality percents were 90% and 60 % at the concentrations of 20000 ppm of algal extract, recording lc50 values of 10027.42 and 15805.06 ppm for the 2nd and 4th larval instar, respectively. furthermore, bacterial strains induced 100% and 60 % mortality at the concentrations of 1000 ppm with lc50 values of 232.50 and 883.46 ppm for the 2nd and 4th larval instar, respectively. moreover, feeding these compounds caused alterations in the mid-gut tissue and disturbances in the life cycle of the fall armyworm. conclusions: the algal extract and the bacterial strain have demonstrated a significant toxic impact on the fall armyworm and could be involved in the integrated management protocol of this pest. keywords: chlorella vulgaris, bacillus thuringiensis, fall armyworm, biological control downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-06-22 issue vol. 14 no. 6 (2024): june 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass oils on extension of the shelf life and qualitative characteristics of iraqi soft cheese | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 / research articles the effect of thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass oils on extension of the shelf life and qualitative characteristics of iraqi soft cheese authors firas najm ismael [email protected] sara thamer hadi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1262 abstract background: in the case of iraqi soft cheeses, researchers have noted that the moisture content of these cheeses decreases over time in storage and reaches its maximum depletion in the final storage period. this information was found to be true for all samples that were tested. as storage times increased, this decline was followed by a rise in the ratio of fat and protein, which reached the maximum at 21 days for all samples under investigation. additionally, research was done on the impact of thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass oil additions on the microbiological and sensory properties of the soft cheese generated during storage.      objective: this study set out to ascertain the impact of adding oils such as thyme, rosemary, and lemongrass on the chemical, microbial, and sensory properties of iraqi soft white cheese made from cow's milk and stored for 21 days at 1 ± 5°c. materials and methods: the wild thyme and rosemary were obtained from local markets in baghdad, while the lemongrass was obtained from one of the nurseries in abu ghraib / baghdad in december 2022. the essential oils were extracted by water distillation according to the method described.  results: as storage went on, the number of staphylococcus aureus bacteria increased; on day 21, they reached 1.75, 3.54, 5.41, 6.75, 1.20, 2.14, 3.21, and 4.20 cfu / g of cheese, respectively. this was the largest rise in the count. by contrast, these values dropped when thyme oil was added, coming down to 1.54, 1.48, 2.10, and 2.88 cfu/g of cheese, respectively. in the sample to which rosemary oil was added, the quantity of staphylococcus aureus bacteria fell as well, reaching 1.54, 1.76, 2.88, and 3.31 cfu /g cheese, respectively, despite the fact that they were not present at all. additionally, there was no staphylococcus aureus germs present, in contrast to the cheese sample that had lemongrass oil added, which had both staphylococcus aureus and coliform bacteria entirely missing. the findings also demonstrated that, when compared to the cheese samples treated with wild thyme oil, rosemary oil, and the control sample, the cheese sample treated with lemongrass oil exhibited superior sensory qualities, such as flavor, color, texture, and bitterness over various storage times. keywords: soft cheese, thyme oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, chemical composition, storage period downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-01-04 issue vol. 14 no. 1 (2024): january 2024 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the second-meal effect of undaria pinnatifida sporophylls (mekabu) in healthy young women: an open-label crossover study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 / research articles the second-meal effect of undaria pinnatifida sporophylls (mekabu) in healthy young women: an open-label crossover study authors masaki taga kazuma yohizumi hitomi kobayashi naoki iwamoto doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i12.1807 abstract background: postprandial hyperglycemia is an early indicator of impaired glucose tolerance and an established risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm). while low–glycemic index (gi) foods and soluble dietary fibers have shown efficacy in modulating postprandial glycemia, their capacity to influence glycemic responses to subsequent meals—referred to as the "second-meal effect"—remains underutilized in dietary interventions. objective: this study aimed to investigate whether breakfast consumption of undaria pinnatifida (mekabu), a seaweed rich in soluble fiber and sulfated polysaccharides, could attenuate postprandial glycemic response at a subsequent meal in healthy young women. methods: an open-label, two-period, crossover study was conducted among healthy female participants. subjects consumed a test breakfast with or without mekabu, followed by a standardized lunch. capillary blood glucose levels were measured at multiple time points post-lunch to assess second-meal glycemic modulation. results: the findings indicated that mekabu consumption at breakfast significantly reduced postprandial blood glucose levels after lunch, compared to the control condition. these effects may be mediated, at least in part, through delayed gastric emptying and enhanced glp-1 secretion. conclusion: breakfast intake of mekabu may enhance glycemic stability over successive meals by eliciting a second-meal effect. these findings support the potential utility of mekabu as a functional dietary intervention for the early prevention of t2dm. keywords: mekabu (undaria pinnatifida), second-meal effect, soluble dietary fiber, postprandial glycemia, glucagon-like peptide-1 (glp-1), functional foods, bioactive compounds downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-12-01 issue vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 masaki taga, kazuma yohizumi, hitomi kobayashi, naoki iwamoto this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com epigenetic effects of four nutraceutical products on human liver cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 / research articles epigenetic effects of four nutraceutical products on human liver cells authors catherine e. davis paul f. davis daniel a. gubler doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i1.1524 abstract background: there are numerous botanical extracts and fractions that have been shown to have a diverse range of bioactivities. many nutraceutical products and food supplements contain phytochemicals often multiple numbers of them as constituents of a single product. there is a paucity of data on the net bioactivities of these multi-component products. this paper reports the effects of four such products on the expression of six genes that are critical to the maintenance of good health. objectives: we investigated several products that contain a number of constituents derived from plant species as well as essential minerals on the biochemical activities of liver cells in culture. the combination of these bioactives into one product results in multiple strong biological effects. examples of these are presented in this paper with a discussion of how the constituents have provided this effect. methods: the expression of six genes (ppar-α, glp-1, bdnf, sirt-1, nrf1, sod-1) in a human liver cell line (thle-2 cells) were cultured for 24 hours in the presence of vitalité, reviv, revíve and collagène (products from three international). the rna was isolated from these cells and from the control unsupplemented cells. the levels of transcripts of these genes in these isolates were measured by rt-pcr. the changes in the concentrations of the mrna from the supplemented cells were compared with those from reference cells. results: of the four products, revíve boosted the transcription of the glp-1, the bdnf, the sirt-1, the nrf1, and the sod-1 genes. éternel boosted the transcription of ppar-α, and the sod-1 genes. vitalité increased the transcription of the glp-1, the bdnf, the nrf1, and the sod-1 genes. collagène stimulated the expression of the bdnf, and the sod-1 genes. the use of nutraceutical products, either as a complement or as a substitute for pharmaceuticals, has been receiving increased attention for maintaining good health. these products are multi-component. evidence for their clinical efficacy is frequently lacking.  conclusion: the results of this project provide evidence that the phytochemicals in the four products investigated can provide the bio-effects that regulate the expression of key genes that control fundamental essential metabolic activities and so can justify the claims made for them. keywords: epigenetics, nutritional supplements, phytonutrients, liver health downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-01-14 issue vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com heat-inactivated bacillus subtilis subsp. natto strain qol (qolbacillus natto) improves negative mood states: a randomized,double-blind, and placebo-controlled parallel study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 / clinical trial heat-inactivated bacillus subtilis subsp. natto strain qol (qolbacillus natto) improves negative mood states: a randomized,double-blind, and placebo-controlled parallel study authors naoki nakamura yuichi sano naoko suzuki tsuyoshi takara doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i8.1677 abstract background/objectives: heat-inactivated bacillus subtilis subsp. natto strain qol (qol bacillus natto) is a bacterial strain isolated from the fermented food natto and is produced through heat sterilization following pure culture. qol bacillus natto has been reported to improve sleep quality in healthy adults, and to improve depression-like behavior caused by social defeat stress in animal models. however, there is a lack of research investigating the effects of qol bacillus natto on psychological stress related to desk work. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of qol bacillus natto intake on psychological stress in healthy adults prone to fatigue and stress caused by daily desk work. methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted on 112 healthy adult males and females aged 24 to 89 years. participants were randomly assigned to receive either a test food containing qol bacillus natto (100 mg) or a placebo daily for 8 weeks. participants were assessed at weeks 0 and 8 using the profile of mood states 2nd edition (poms2), the ogu-ri-shirakawa-azumi sleep inventory ma version (osa-ma), and stress intensity using visual analog scale (vas). results: after 8 weeks of intervention, the total mood disturbance (tmd) score in poms2 for the qol bacillus natto group was below the mean value, and significantly lower than that of the placebo group. additionally, the vigor-activity score in poms2 for the qol bacillus natto group was above the mean value, and significantly higher than that of the placebo group. conclusions: the results suggested that qol bacillus natto intake enhances vigor and activity, improves negative mood states, and is effective in reducing psychological stress. trial registration: jrct1030240202 keywords: bacillus subtilis; qol bacillus natto; postbiotics; stress; negative mood states; poms downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-08-01 issue vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 section clinical trial license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com urolithin a represses ige-induced degranulation in rbl-2h3 cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 / research articles urolithin a represses ige-induced degranulation in rbl-2h3 cells authors daiya hirate miwa higa yutaka masuda kimihiko takada doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i4.1562 abstract background: urolithins, intestinal metabolites of ellagic acid, have various physiological properties including anti-inflammatory effects. in addition, the anti-allergic effect of urolithin ingestion in a mouse model of pollinosis has been reported. however, the effect of urolithins on mast cell degranulation has not been reported. to investigate the anti-allergic effect of urolithin a (ua), we examined whether ua suppressed the degranulation reaction in a rat mast cell/basophil cell line, rbl-2h3. furthermore, we examined the effect of ua on the activation of the signal pathway involved in the degranulation reaction. methods: we measured antigen-induced β-hexosaminidase and histamine release from rbl-2h3 cells to study the ability of ua to inhibit degranulation activity. furthermore, we performed western blotting to determine whether akt phosphorylation, which is involved in the signal transduction pathway leading to antigen-antibody-induced degranulation, was inhibited. results: ua suppressed β-hexosaminidase activity up to 10 μm in a concentration-dependent manner—2 and 5 μm ua suppressed activity by 46% and 85%, respectively, and 10 μm ua suppressed activity by 96%. the increase in the amount of histamine was also suppressed depending on the concentration of ua—5 and 10 μm of ua suppressed the increase by 60% and 86%, respectively. ua suppressed ige-mediated akt phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner. conclusions: ua (10 μm) effectively suppressed the degranulation reaction in rbl-2h3 cells induced by an antigen-antibody reaction. this inhibitory effect was stronger than that of tranilast (50 μm), ketotifen (50 μm), and sodium cromoglicate (50 μm) tested in parallel. accompanying the antigen-antibody reaction, peak akt phosphorylation was observed at 20 minutes. ua suppressed akt phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner. this suggests that ua might suppress the degranulation reaction in rbl-2h3 cells by suppressing the signal transduction system associated with the antigen-antibody reaction. novelty of the study: this study is the first to report the effect of ua on mast cell degranulation. additionally, it reveals that ua suppresses ige-mediated akt phosphorylation, suggesting a novel mechanism for its anti-allergic properties. these findings provide new insights into ua as a potential therapeutic compound for allergic reactions. keywords: urolithin a; degranulation; mast cells; anti-allergy; akt downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-04-16 issue vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com heat-killed lactiplantibacillus plantarum n1487-7 induces il-10 production and enhances skin barrier function | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles heat-killed lactiplantibacillus plantarum n1487-7 induces il-10 production and enhances skin barrier function authors eriko uehara hideki hokazono doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1483 abstract background: interleukin (il)-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, suppresses the release of inflammatory cytokines, such as il-6, and inhibits the decline in skin barrier function. mice orally administered test substances by gavage are subjected to physical stress, which results in the secretion of stress hormones. stress hormones cause inflammation and reduce skin barrier function. objective: the effects of heat-killed lactiplantibacillus (lpb.) plantarum n1487-7 (n1487-7-hk) on il-10 production in caco-2 cells and macrophages, and skin barrier function in physically stressed mice was investigated. methods: lpb. plantarum n1487-7 was cultured in fermented barley extract medium at 30 °c for 22 h with shaking (100 rpm). the washed cells were killed by heating at 110 °c for 10 minutes. the cells were then dried in a centrifugal evaporator and ground to obtain the cell powder. the powder was administered to caco-2 cells and macrophages, and il-10 mrna and il-10 protein expressions were measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. n1487-7-hk cells or distilled water were orally administered daily by gavage to hos:hr-1 mice for 5 weeks (the n1487-7-hk group or the control group). during weeks 3 and 5 only, dextran sulfate sodium (dss) was mixed into the drinking water of these groups to induce mild colitis. the normal group was not orally administered anything by gavage and was not given dss. serum il-10 and the trans epidermal water loss (tewl) of mice were measured. results: n1487-7-hk promoted the expression of il-10 mrna and il-10 protein in both caco-2 cells and macrophages. in mice subjected to physical stress, serum il-10 levels in the n1487-7-hk group were significantly increased compared to the control group. the transepidermal water loss (tewl) in the control group was notably higher than that in the normal group during weeks 1 and 2. in contrast, the n1487-7-hk group showed no significant difference in tewl compared to the normal group. the n1487-7-hk group showed a significantly lower tewl at week 4 compared to week 0. conclusions: n1487-7-hk promoted il-10 production from intestinal epithelial cells and macrophages. intake of n1487-7-hk inhibited the decline in skin barrier function in mice subjected to physical stress. keywords: lactiplantibacillus plantarum, interleukin (il)-10, caco-2, macrophages, skin barrier downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-23 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com rice-derived glucosylceramides up-regulate hla-dr expression on myeloid dendritic cells to activate innate immune responses in healthy japanese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 / research articles rice-derived glucosylceramides up-regulate hla-dr expression on myeloid dendritic cells to activate innate immune responses in healthy japanese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial authors kenchi miyasaka shogo takeda akari yoneda mizuki kubo hiroshi shimoda doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i8.1666 abstract introduction: in a prior study, we found that rice-derived glucosylceramides (glcer) improved overall health and alleviated common cold symptoms, including nasal congestion, sore throat, coughing, headache, muscle pain, and diarrhea. one of the underlying mechanisms may involve the enhanced activation of antigen-presenting cells (apc) through mincle, a c-type lectin receptor, and toll-like receptors. however, the clinical impact of glcer on cell-mediated innate immunity, especially concerning apc, is not yet fully understood.  objective: therefore, we performed a clinical study on the effects of commercially available rice-glcer (oryza ceramide®) on blood dendritic cells (dc). methods: the study was planned as a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. oryza ceramide®-pcd (oc-pcd, 20 mg) tablets, each containing 0.6 mg of glcer, were used as the active tablet. twenty-two healthy japanese individuals were enrolled and randomly divided to an active group (n=11) or placebo group (n=11 for 8 weeks, participants took three active tablets (60 mg of oc-pcd) or three placebo tablets daily. dc ratios and cd expression on dc during the intervention were set as the primary outcomes.  results: all subjects finished the trial, and the per protocol set constituted 11 in each group. the myeloid dc (mdc) ratio and cd86 expression were significantly lower in the active group than in the placebo group. in contrast, hla-dr expression on mdc was slightly higher in the active group. a stratified analysis of subjects with mean fluorescence intensity (mfi) for hla-dr <60,000 revealed a significant high value in hla-dr expression in the active group. a correlation was observed between changes in mfi values for hla-dr and cd86 on mdc. however, plasmacytoid dc parameters did not change.  novelty of the study: rice-derived glcer was firstly clarified to enhance innate immune response specifically mdc to improve common cold symptoms through this clinical trial. conclusions: the oral administration of glcer affected mdc by up-regulating the expression of hla-dr and down-regulating cd86, which contribute to antigen presentation to t lymphocytes. the present results suggests that glcer attenuate cold symptoms by enhancing the interaction between mdc and t lymphocytes. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000055299 keywords: rice; glucosylceramide; hla-dr; dendritic cells; cd86 downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-08-04 issue vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com mineral composition and antioxidant activity of partially digested coffee “kopi luwak” | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 / research articles mineral composition and antioxidant activity of partially digested coffee “kopi luwak” authors ayu diawi ismayawati daigo yokoyama ryui goto yuki oya izumi watanabe sawako horai hiroyuki sakakibara doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i11.1469 abstract background: kopi luwak is a rare type of coffee, that is partially digested in the asian palm civet’s digestive tract before roasting. it therefore possesses a distinctive flavor and unique properties, shaped by the digestive enzymes in the civet's intestine.  objective: in this study, the differences of mineral composition, antioxidant potency and total polyphenol amount between commercially available kopi luwak and regular coffees (without digestive fermentation) were evaluated. methods: twenty-one regular type of coffee bean and 17 of kopi luwak bean were purchased from local markets or kopi luwak production company in indonesia.  the samples were then analyzed for the levels of 23 minerals (al, as, ba, bi, ca, cd, co, cr, cs, cu, fe, li, mg, mn, mo, ni, pb, rb, se, sn, sr, v and zn) using icp-ms system. the total polyphenol amount and antioxidant activity were evaluated using folin-ciocalteu assay and dpph (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay, respectively. results: of these 23 minerals, the concentrations of mn and ba were significantly lower in kopi luwak than in regular coffee. otherwise, the concentrations of cu and rb in kopi luwak were significantly higher than those in regular coffee. the ic50 value on dpph radical scavenging assay of kopi luwak (61.4±2.8 mg/dl) was significantly lower than that of regular coffee (93.6±1.9 mg/dl). total polyphenol amount for kopi luwak was significantly higher than regular coffee. the correlation factor between these factors was r = -0.5910 and p < 0.001. conclusion: kopi luwak had lower concentrations of mn and ba, but higher levels of cu and rb compared to regular coffee. additionally, kopi luwak exerted strong antioxidant activity and contained higher polyphenol amounts than regular coffee. thus, our findings imply that kopi luwak is an important candidate for functional foods. keywords: antioxidant potency, icp-ms, kopi luwak, mineral composition, polyphenols downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-11-18 issue vol. 14 no. 11 (2024): november 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com safety evaluation of excessive intake of hesperetin-7-glucoside-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex in healthy japanese subjects | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 / research articles safety evaluation of excessive intake of hesperetin-7-glucoside-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex in healthy japanese subjects authors masamitsu moriwaki taiyokagaku co.,ltd aya abe taiyokagaku co.,ltd mahendra p kapoor taiyokagaku co.,ltd akiko yamaguchi taiyokagaku co.,ltd saki okamoto taiyokagaku co.,ltd makoto ozeki taiyokagaku co.,ltd doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i3.1325 abstract background: hesperidin, a flavonoid glycoside, is widely found in the peels and rinds of citrus fruits, offering various physiological benefits. however, its effectiveness is hindered by challenges related to insolubility and low bioavailability. to overcome these obstacles, we developed the hesperetin-7-glucoside -β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex (hcd). this complex demonstrates superior solubility and bioavailability compared to hesperidin. in a previous study where participants consumed 300 mg/day of hcd for 12 weeks, there was a notable improvement in endothelial dysfunction. importantly, no significant adverse clinical events were reported during this period. objective: to evaluate the safety of the excessive intake of hcd in healthy japanese subjects. methods: fourteen healthy male and female volunteers (with a mean age of 39.1±9.1) participated in this excessive hcd intake clinical trial. subjects took 1500 mg/day hcd, which was five times the dosage of 300 mg/day hcd, for 4 consecutive weeks. physical examination, blood tests, and uric tests were performed during this period. results: results demonstrated no significant differences at 2, and 4 weeks compared to the baseline at 0 weeks with 1500 mg hcd (equivalent to 195 mg hptg) supplementation in healthy subjects. conclusions: it has been demonstrated that there are no safety concerns when consuming 1500 mg of hcd daily, continuously for 4 weeks. keywords: safety, bioavailability, clinical trials, hesperidin, food, foods with function claims, overdose supplementation, cyclodextrin trial registration: umin-ctr (trial id: umin000051960) foundation: taiyo kagaku co. ltd. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-03-04 issue vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com safety evaluation of high bioavailability curcumin in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparison study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 / research articles safety evaluation of high bioavailability curcumin in healthy japanese adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group comparison study authors hyunjin lee theravalues corporation yoshitaka kuwabara akiko hirose toshihiro kakinuma asami baba tsuyoshi takara doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i12.1207 abstract background:  curcumin is the principal component responsible for the pharmacological action of curcuma longa. it has been proven to exhibit a diverse range of functions. it has been used in many fields as a spice, coloring agent, cosmetic, and food preservative. objective: to evaluate the safety of the intake of highly bioavailable curcumin (cr-033p and ts-p1) in humans.  methods: we conducted two trials. the participants were healthy japanese adults.  participants of tria1 1 (long-term intake trial) took cr-033p or ts-p1 for 12 weeks (as curcumin 150 mg/day). participants of trial 2 (excessive intake trial) took ts-p1 for 4 weeks (as curcumin 750 mg/day).  the safety assessment involved monitoring the occurrence of side effects or adverse events, along with the analysis of urinalysis and blood parameters. results: the safety analysis population of trial 1 included 33 participants in the cr-033p group, 32 participants ts-p1, and 30 participants in the placebo group. the safety analysis population of trial 2 included 22 participants in ts-p1 and 20 participants in the placebo group. in both trial 1 and trial 2, few participants were observed to experience adverse events and  however these were not adverse events related to the cr-033p or ts-p1. results of urinalysis and blood analysis were confirmed to not exhibit medically problematic changes related to the cr-033p or ts-p1. conclusions: these trials proved the safety of the long-term intake of cr-033p or ts-pi(as curcumin 150mg/ day) and the safety of the excessive intake of tsp1 for four weeks (as curcumin 750mg/ day). ts-p1 and cr-033p can be considered a safe curcumin supplement based on these results.       keywords: curcumin, bioavailability, safety, high dose, long term dose, healthy japanese adults, bmi, blood pressure  trial registration: trial 1: umin000046160, trial 2: umin000048797. foundation:theravalues corporation downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-12-20 issue vol. 13 no. 12 (2023): december 2023 section research articles license copyright (c) 2023 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com microalgae and the gut microbiome: insights from animal models to human trials | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 / review articles microalgae and the gut microbiome: insights from animal models to human trials authors samuel paterson tosin a. olasehinde pilar gómez-cortés blanca hernández-ledesma doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i12.1803 abstract abstract: the gut microbiota is a vast consortium of microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal tract that plays essential roles in host metabolic, nutritional, and immune functions. however, this delicate ecosystem is susceptible to disruptions, or dysbiosis, which have been associated with conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. the consumption of western diets disrupts gut function; however, functional foods are essential for healthy microbiota. microalgae, known for their ecological sustainability and rich nutritional profile, are increasingly considered promising sources of bioactive compounds, with growing evidence suggesting they may support the growth of beneficial gut microbes and help restore microbial balance. microalgal-rich diets have shown promise by modulating fatty acid metabolism, inhibiting gut inflammation, and improving gut health. despite previous investigations, the specific effects of microalgae on the gut microbiome remain underexplored, and the available data are dispersed. this review aims to unite and apprise the current scientific literature on the effects of microalgae-based dietary interventions on the gut microbiome by examining studies conducted in animal models, evidence from human-based approaches, including in vitro gut models and clinical trials, and identifying critical knowledge gaps in this research area. by highlighting the most relevant findings and outlining areas requiring further investigation, this review underscores the emerging potential of microalgae as microbiome-modulating agents and their promising role in next-generation functional foods for human health. keywords: microalgae, gut microbiome, animal models, clinical trials, prebiotics downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-12-05 issue vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 section review articles license copyright (c) 2025 samuel paterson, tosin a. olasehinde, pilar gómez-cortés, blanca hernández-ledesma this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com clove bud extract inhibits glycation of bovine serum albumin: insights from in vitro and molecular dynamics simulation analysis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles clove bud extract inhibits glycation of bovine serum albumin: insights from in vitro and molecular dynamics simulation analysis authors saleh a. almatroodi doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1762 abstract background: glycation is a non-enzymatic reaction between amino groups within proteins and reducing sugars, leading to advanced glycation end products (ages). ages can induce protein cross-linking and accumulate in various tissues. their buildup contributes to complications associated with chronic disease. although antiglycation agents like aminoguanidine are well documented, there is a significant need for more effective age inhibitors to address various pathogeneses and complications. syzygium aromaticum, commonly known as clove, has several medicinal properties, including antimicrobial and antioxidant effects that contribute to reduced oxidative stress. however, its impact on glycation and related biochemical parameters has not been thoroughly investigated.  objectives: this study aims to evaluate the impact of clove bud extract on bsa glycation and elucidate its mechanism of action through molecular simulations. methods: the antiglycation effects of clove bud extract were evaluated by quantifying glycation-induced changes in bsa structure and aggregation following glucose-mediated glycation and subsequent treatment with varying extract concentrations. uv spectroscopy and fluorescence-based assays (congo red and thioflavin t) were used to assess these changes. at the same time, molecular docking and dynamics simulations explored the underlying molecular interactions between clove bud components and bsa. results: the results demonstrated that clove bud extract at a 600 µg/ml concentration significantly decreased the browning intensity by 54.38%. when combined with glycated bsa, the extract reduced the aggregation index and mitigated glycation-induced alterations in bsa's secondary structure, indicating its potential to inhibit glycation and prevent age formation. increasing the dosage of clove bud extract resulted in a decrease in thioflavin t-specific fluorescence in the samples. molecular docking studies revealed several compounds within the clove extract interact with glycation-prone residues on bsa, specifically lysine and arginine. molecular simulation studies further confirmed that all tested compounds form stable complexes with bsa when simulated under aqueous conditions, which mirror physiological environments.  novelty of the study: this study presents novel findings on the inhibitory effects of clove bud extract on the glycation process of bovine serum albumin (bsa), demonstrating its potential as a natural inhibitor of glycation. conclusion: these findings underscore the potential of clove bud as a natural inhibitor of glycation and glycation-induced protein aggregation. keywords: clove; glycation; oxidative stress, aggregation; bsa; molecular docking; molecular dynamics simulation, pathogenesis. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-10 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com passiflora ligularis extract improved acetylcholinesterase activity, oxidative stress markers, and neurocognitive outcomes in scopolamine-induced alzheimer's model in zebrafish | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 / research articles passiflora ligularis extract improved acetylcholinesterase activity, oxidative stress markers, and neurocognitive outcomes in scopolamine-induced alzheimer's model in zebrafish authors rosa martha perez gutierrez julio tellez gómez diana maylet hernández martínez alethia muñiz ramirez josé maría mota flores doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i7.1668 abstract background: passiflora ligularis (granadilla) is known for its health benefits, including its potential in managing obesity.  inflammation, and diabetes. this study aimed to evaluate the effects of an   extract from p. ligularis fruit (pas) o neuroinflammation, n cognitive function, and oxidative stress in a zebrafish model of scopolamine (sco)-induced neurodegeneration.  methods: flavonoid profile was evaluated using high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc-uv-ms). zebrafish (danio rerio) received oral pas at dose of 4, 6, and 8 µg/ml or donepezil used as positive control (0.65 mg/kg) for 19 days, followed by sco administration (100 µg/ml) one hour before behavioral tests. these included the novel tank diving test (ntt), y-maze test, and novel object recognition test (nor). post-experiment biochemical brain parameters were analyzed. results: hplc-uv-ms identified 11 phenolic compounds previously reported for their neuroprotective potential. pas treatment significantly improved acetylcholinesterase (ache) activity, oxidative stress markers, and neurocognitive impairments, demonstrating effects comparable to the donepezil group.  conclusions: these findings suggest that passiflora ligularis extract may be a promising phytotherapeutic approach for alleviating memory impairment and symptoms associated with alzheimer’s disease. novelty of the study: this study investigates the effect of passiflora ligularis extract on neurodegenerative disease in zebrafish model, revealing its potential to alleviate neurocognitive impairments mitigate neuroinflammation, reactive oxygen species and acetylcholinesterase. keyword: passiflora ligularis; alzheimer´s disease; neurodegenerative disease; oxidative stress   downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-07-25 issue vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com nodule bacteria and cyanobacterial symbionts: biological drivers of sustainable crop production and healthy nutrition | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 / research articles nodule bacteria and cyanobacterial symbionts: biological drivers of sustainable crop production and healthy nutrition authors seda harutyunyan gayane khachatryan tamara stepanyan vigen goginyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i10.1718 abstract background: chemical fertilizers negatively impact soil health and biodiversity, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable biological alternatives. nodule-forming bacteria are well recognized for their ability to establish symbiotic associations with leguminous crops, enabling biological nitrogen fixation and promoting environmentally sustainable agriculture. at the same time, legumes represent a cornerstone of functional food science, providing high-quality proteins, bioactive compounds, and micronutrients essential for human health. objective: this study aimed to evaluate the effects of co-inoculating legume crops with native strains of nodule bacteria and cyanobacteria on plant growth in humus-deficient soils, yield performance, grain nutritional quality, and their potential contribution to functional food development. methods: field trials were conducted using pea, soybean, and peanut crops inoculated with microbial consortia comprising symbiotic nodule bacteria (rhizobium leguminosarum, bradyrhizobium arachidis, b. japonicum) and cyanobacteria (nostoc pcc 7807, arthrospira platensis). key agronomic parameters, including biometric traits, pod and seed weight, nodulation efficiency, grain protein content, and yield components, were measured and subjected to statistical analysis under humus-deficient soil conditions. results: co-inoculation significantly enhanced plant performance across all tested crops. peanut pod weight increased by up to 120%, while soybean nodulation improved by 60% compared to the uninoculated control. grain protein content increased by 3–7%, with improved amino acid balance, directly strengthening the functional food value of legumes. total yield rose by as much as 67%, highlighting the strong synergistic potential of microbial consortia for sustainable crop production and nutritionally enriched food sources. novelty: this study presents a novel biofertilizer formulation combining four functionally distinct bacterial taxa with nitrogen-fixing and nutrient-mobilizing capabilities. in addition to symbiotic nodule bacteria, the formulation includes free-living azotobacter, phosphate-solubilizing bacilli, and two cyanobacterial species (arthrospira platensis, nostoc sp.), linking soil microbiology innovations with functional food science by enhancing protein density and nutritional quality in legumes. conclusion: the results confirm that synergistic interactions between cyanobacteria and nodule bacteria significantly enhance legume productivity, grain quality, and functional food potential. the developed biofertilizer based on nitrogen-fixing, phosphate-solubilizing, and photosynthetic microbes proved effective in improving yields of soybean, peanut, and pea under low-humus soil conditions, offering a sustainable strategy to support agroecology, food security, and the production of health-promoting plant-based foods. keywords: nodule bacteria, cyanobacteria, symbiosis, legumes, humus-deficient soils, sustainable agroecology and functional foods, protein enrichment, healthy nutrition downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-10-08 issue vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com differential protective effects of whole and skimmed whey on lps-induced barrier dysfunction and inflammation in caco-2/tc7 cells | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles differential protective effects of whole and skimmed whey on lps-induced barrier dysfunction and inflammation in caco-2/tc7 cells authors elena layunta laura garcía sofía gimeno jaime martínez lourdes sánchez laura gras doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1774 abstract background: lipopolysaccharide (lps) from gram-negative bacteria disrupts intestinal epithelial integrity and promotes inflammation, contributing to the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disorders. dairy-based whey products are rich in bioactive compounds with known barrier-protective and immunomodulatory properties.  objective: this study aimed to evaluate the effects of two types of bovine whey — bovine whole whey (bww) and bovine skimmed whey (bsw) — on lps-induced barrier dysfunction and inflammation in the intestinal in vitro model caco-2/tc7 cells.  methods: caco-2/tc7 cell line was exposed to 20 µg/ml lps for 24h to induce epithelial barrier disruption. additionally, cells were treated with 5 mg/ml bww or 5 mg/ml bsw alone, or in combination with 20 µg/ml lps. transepithelial electrical resistance (teer), fitc-dextran permeability, and mrna expression of tight junction (tj) proteins (zo-1, claudin-1, claudin-3, occludin) and inflammation-related genes (il-1r, cox-2, inos) were assessed.  results: lps significantly reduced teer without increasing macromolecular permeability or altering tj gene expression. both whey fractions restored teer to control levels, with bsw also enhancing baseline barrier integrity. bww and bsw upregulated zo-1 and claudin-1 mrna expression, though claudin-1 was downregulated when bsw was combined with lps. importantly, only bww normalized lps-induced overexpression of il-1r, cox-2, and inos, indicating better anti-inflammatory properties likely due to its retained lipid components. conclusion: both whey fractions reinforce epithelial barrier function under lps challenge, but only whole whey (bww) provides dual protection by also attenuating inflammatory responses. these findings support the potential of whole whey as a functional food ingredient for intestinal health by targeting both physical and immunological aspects of barrier dysfunction. keywords: bovine whey, lps, intestinal permeability, tight junction proteins, inflammation downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-17 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 elena layunta, laura garcía, sofía gimeno, jaime martínez, lourdes sánchez, laura gras this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 74 of 86 research article open access comparative analysis of functional components in sakekasu (sake lees) yuto nishidono1,2, shingen misaka3, yuko maejima3, kenju shimomura3, ken tanaka1* 1college of pharmaceutical sciences, ritsumeikan university, 1-1-1 noji-higashi, kusatsu, shiga 525-8577, japan; 2research organization of science and technology, ritsumeikan university, 1-1-1 noji-higashi, kusatsu, shiga 525-8577, japan; 3department of bioregulation and pharmacological medicine, school of medicine, fukushima medical university, 1 hikarigaoka, fukushima, fukushima 960-1295, japan *corresponding author: ken tanaka, ph.d., college of pharmaceutical sciences, ritsumeikan university1-1-1 noji-higashi, kusatsu, shiga 525-8577, japan. submission date: december 18th, 2023; acceptance date: january12th, 2024; publication date: january 16th, 2024 please cite this article as: nishidono y., misaka s., maejima y., shimomura k., tanaka k. comparative analysis of functional components in sakekasu (sake lees). functional foods in health and disease 2024; 14(1):74-86. doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1272 abstract background: sake lees (sakekasu), a byproduct of sake production, has been recently attracting attention as a functional food. sakekasu is rich in nutrients and contains glycerophosphocholine (gpc) and s-adenosylmethionine (sam), which are well-known functional compounds. the content of these compounds in sakekasu depends on a variety of factors, including fermentation conditions, especially the method and length of ripening. these differences are reflected prominently in the color of sakekasu, which becomes darker due to the long ripening period and high drying temperature. objective: this study aimed to clarify the contents of functional components in sakekasu with different color tones (i.e., ripening period). methods: three types of sakekasu with different color tones (white, ocher, and brawn) were collected from several breweries. the contents of multiple functional components in their extracts were determined by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution ion-trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. results: sakekasu with white color had more abundant gpc, sam, and fatty acids than those with darker color. however, ethyl glucoside and glyceryl glucosides did not differ significantly by color tone. furthermore, the maillard reaction products of sugar and dipeptide were mainly found in dark-colored sakekasu, and their structures were annotated by http://www.ffhdj.com/ https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i1.1272 functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 75 of 86 tandem mass spectrometry. conclusions: this study has clarified many functional compounds in sakekasu in relation to color tone (i.e., ripening period) and highlighted the potential of sakekasu with white color tone as a functional food. keywords: sakekasu, functional components, glycerophosphocholine, s-adenosylmethionine, tandem mass spectrometer ©ffc 2024. this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) ©ffc 2024. introduction consumers are growing increasingly aware of the significance of diet in human health leading to an increase in demand for functional foods [1, 2]. the debate over the definition of functional food has persisted for many years. in 2021, the functional food center proposed the following definition of the term 'functional food': “natural or processed foods that contain biologically-active compounds, which, in defined, effective, non-toxic amounts, provide a clinically proven and documented health benefit utilizing specific biomarkers, to promote optimal health and reduce the risk of chronic/viral diseases and manage their symptoms” [3]. to place foods into the functional food category, various approaches have been proposed, such as a 16-step course [4] and functional food development cycle [1]. one important step in these processes is the identification of functional components, which are the element of classifying functional foods [4]. sake is a traditional japanese alcoholic beverage. during its production process, steamed rice is first fermented with aspergillus oryzae to make “koji” mold. then, koji mold, steamed rice, and saccharomyces cerevisiae (sake yeast) are mixed, and ethanol fermentation occurs at the oar. subsequently, the fermented product is filtered and separated into liquid and solid components. the solid portion is called “sakekasu” (sake lees). sakekasu is rich in protein, peptides, amino acids, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, fat, ash, and vitamins and has traditionally been used as an ingredient in food processing and as a moisturizer in cosmetics in japan [5]. sakekasu has been recently attracting attention as a functional food, with numerous reported effects, such http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 76 of 86 as antidiabetic [6], osteoporosis-preventive [7], and anti– colon cancer effects [8]. it also improves hepatic lipid accumulation [9, 10], inhibits acute alcohol-induced liver damage [11], alleviates pain sensitivity [12], and prevents allergic rhinitis–like symptoms [13]. other than sakekasu’s nutritional components, its functional ingredients have been widely studied. for example, peptides obtained from the hydrolyzed products of sakekasu inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme and suppress hypertension [14]; they also inhibit prolyl endopeptidase, which is involved in amnesia development [15]. furthermore, ethyl glucoside (1) (figure 1), which is relatively abundant in sakekasu, has hepatoprotective [16] and diuretic effects [17] and improves the functions of the stratum corneum [18]. sakekasu also contains s-adenosylmethionine (sam) (3) (figure 1), which is reportedly effective in treating diseases such as alcoholic liver dysfunction and depression [19]. in recent years, glycerophosphocholine (gpc) (6) found in sakekasu has attracted attention for its anti-aging and brain function improvement effects (figure 1) [20]. the gpcand sam-associated metabolic pathways (choline pathway and methionine pathway, respectively) are related via betaine, and the relationship between their content remains insufficiently understood. the composition of these functional components greatly varies depending on the fermentation conditions and especially length of aging of sakekasu in different breweries. however, to date, only changes in sakekasu composition caused by the drying method have been reported [21], and changes caused by aging remain uninvestigated. differences in the degree of maturity of sakekasu are reflected in the color. therefore, in the present study, to clarify the relationship between the contents of the functional components in sakakasu and color tones, we collected sakekasu with white, ocher, and brawn color tones from several sake breweries and comprehensively analyzed their functional components. figure 1. structures of the compounds detected. 1: ethyl glucoside, 2: glyceryl glucosides, 3: s-adenosylmethionine (sam), 4: glycerophosphocholine (gpc), 5: linolenoyl-glycero-phosphocholine, 6: linoleoyl-glycero-phosphocholine, 9: linoleic acid, 10: palmitic acid, 11: oleic acid, 12: 5'-deoxy-5'-methylthioadenosine, 13: fructose-leucine (isoleucine)-valine or fructose-valine-leucine (isoleucine), 14: fructose-phenylalanine-valine or fructose-valine-phenylalanine, 15: fructose-leucine (isoleucine)-leucine (isoleucine), 16: fructosephenylalanine-leucine (isoleucine) or fructose-leucine (isoleucine)-phenylalanine. glc, glucose; l, leucine; i, isoleucine; v, valine, f, phenylalanine. http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 77 of 86 methods specimens and reagents: we obtained eight samples of sakekasu from sasanokawa shuzo co. ltd. (fukushima, japan) and two other brewery companies. (aichi, japan and kyoto, japan). samples 1–4 were white (r: 255, g: 242, b: 207), 5–6 were ocher (r: 223, g: 170, b: 105), and 7–8 were brawn (r: 169, g: 98, b: 53). these color differences are caused by the ripening period and temperature of the sakekasu. the color of samples becomes darker due to the long ripening period and high drying temperature [22]. all samples were lyophilized and stored at 4°c until analysis. we purchased analytically grade chemicals and chromatographic solvents (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry [lc–ms] grade) from fujifilm wako pure chemical (osaka, japan), and sam and gpc from nacalai tesque (kyoto, japan). instrumentation and analysis: for lc–ms analyses, we used the mass spectrometer shimadzu lc–it–tof (shimadzu, kyoto, japan) equipped with an electrospray ionization (esi) interface. the esi parameters were as follows: source voltage, +4.5 kv in positive ion mode and −3.5 kv in negative ion mode; capillary temperature, 200°c; and nebulizer gas flow rate, 1.5 l/min. we used the mass spectrometer in positive and negative ion modes and recorded the scans from m/z 150 to 1500. gpc and its relating compounds were separated using the hilic column waters xbridge beh amide (2.1 × 150 mm, 5 μm) at 40°c consistently. the binary mobile phase consisted of (a) 5 mm ch3coonh4 in water and (b) ch3cn. these compounds were eluted using the following gradient conditions: 0–30 min, linear gradient from 95% to 45% b, and 30–40 min of isocratic solution at 45% b. furthermore, sam was separated using the column thermo fisher scientific hypercarb (2.1 × 100 mm, 3 μm, 40°c), and the binary mobile phase consisted of (a) 0.1% hcooh in water and (b) ch3cn. the compound was eluted using the following gradient conditions: 0–10 min, linear gradient from 0% to 60% b, 10–12 min linear gradient from 60% to 80% b, and 12–15 min of isocratic solution at 80% b. other compounds were separated using the ods column waters atlantis t3 (2.1 × 150 mm, 5 μm, 40°c), and the binary mobile phase consisted of (a) 5 mm ch3coonh4 in water and (b) ch3cn. the compounds were eluted using the following gradient conditions: 0–30 min, linear gradient from 10% to 100% b, and 30–40 min of isocratic solution at 100% b. extraction of constituents from sakekasu: to extract gpc and sam, we first pulverized freeze-dried sakekasu specimens and mixed each 500 mg of the sample with 5 ml of 50% methanol. these extraction mixtures were ultrasonicated for 10 min and then left overnight at room temperature. on the following day, we filtered the extracts through 0.45 μm millipore filter units (advantec, tokyo, japan) and injected 1 μl of the sample into the lc– ms. other compounds were extracted using other conditions. for example, 10 g of the fine powder of freeze-dried sakekasu specimens was accurately weighted, and the constituents were extracted with methanol using the extraction system b-811 lsv (buchi, flawil, switzerland) under reflux conditions for 100 min. the organic solvent was evaporated in vacuo to collect the methanol extract. additionally, 2 mg of the extract was dissolved in 1 ml of methanol–water mixture (1:1 by vol.). all extracts were filtered through 0.45 μm millipore filter units (advantec), and 1 μl of the sample was injected into the lc–ms. results and discussions quantitation of gpc and sam in sakekasu: the total ion http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 78 of 86 chromatograms and the mass chromatograms of the extracts analyzed using the hilic column are shown in figure 2. especially, figure 2 (f) illustrates the mass chromatograms monitored by the m+ ion of gpc (4, m/z 258.1102), while table 1 lists the quantitation results of gpc in sakekasu samples. the white sakekasu in samples 1–4, which are thought to have been aged for a shorter period, had higher gpc concentrations than aged samples 5–8 (table 1). notably, it was not detected in the brawn colored sakekasu (samples 7 and 8), which appeared to have been aged for a long time (table 1). it is well known that gpc is abundant in dried salmon and rainbow trout [23], and the gpc content of white sakekasu was comparable to these products. in addition, samples with high gpc concentrations contained linolenoyl-glycero-phosphocholines (5) and linoleoylglycero-phosphocholines (6) [figure 2 (g) and (h)]. these compounds are active ingredients that inhibit inflammatory cytokine production [24] and contribute to sakekasu functionality. in experiments using aged mice, matsubara et al. reported that the deposition of transthyretin, an amyloidogenic protein, in the brain was reduced by additional 17% gpc intake [20]. in the present study, the gpc concentration in sakekasu is very high and is considered to be a concentration at which efficacy can be expected with daily ingestion. table 1. concentrations of glycerophosphocholine and s-adenosylmethionine in sakekasu samples. compounds samples (mg/g) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 glycerophosphocholine 3.87 2.82 3.52 0.55 0.14 0.17 0.00 0.00 s-adenosylmethionine 2.84 3.62 3.77 2.95 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 figure 2 also shows a mass chromatogram monitored by the ion m+ of sam (3) [figure 2 (e)]. the peaks show a broad shape, making quantitation by this method difficult. krijt et al. reported sam quantitation using a hypercarb column [25]. hypercarb columns have unique properties that distinguish them from conventional columns, and they excel in retaining and separating highly polar compounds. figure 3 shows the total ion chromatograms analyzed using a hypercarb column and mass chromatograms monitored by the m+ ion of sam. the amount of sam in sakekasu varied greatly from sample to sample, with a very high content in white sakekasu (samples 1–4) [figure 3 (c)]. conversely, sam was not detected at all in ocher and brawn-colored samples (samples 5–8) (table 1). sam is known for its mood-improving, anti-hepatotoxic, and anti-arthritic effects [26]. sakekasu with a high sam content is considered useful as a functional material. the metabolic pathways associated with gpc (choline pathway) and sam (methionine pathway) are related via betaine. in our study, samples with high gpc also had high sam; when sakekasu containing high gpc and sam contents is ingested, a synergistic effect of both functionalities can be expected. http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 79 of 86 figure 2. total ion chromatograms and mass chromatograms of the extracts analyzed using the hilic column. samples 1–4 were white, 5–6 were ocher, and 7–8 were brown. the following ions were monitored (numbers in brackets indicate magnification). a: positive ion, b: negative ion, c: m/z 231.0829 ([m+na]+ ion of ethyl glucoside [1]), d: m/z 277.0897 ([m+na]+ ion of glyceryl glucosides [2]), e: m/z 399.1460 (m+ ion of s‐adenosylmethionine [3]), f: m/z 258.1102 (m+ ion of glycerophosphocholine [4]), g: m/z 520.3428 (m+ ion of linolenoyl-glycero-phosphocholines [5]), h: m/z 522.3232 (m+ ion of linoleoyl-glycero-phosphocholines [6]), i: m/z 179.0575 ([m–h]– ion of monosaccharides [7]), j: m/z 341.1105 ([m–h]– ion of disaccharides [8]). (min)5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 1 (x100,000,000) sample 4 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 1 (x100,000,000) (min) sample 3 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 1 (x100,000,000) (min) sample 2 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) 1 (x100,000,000) (min)5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 sample 5 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 1 (x100,000,000) (min) sample 6 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 1 (x100,000,000) (min) sample 7 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 1 (x100,000,000) (min) sample 8 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) (x100,000,000) 1 1 2 3 5 4 8 76 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 (min) sample 1 a b c (x 10) d (x 5) e (x 20) f (x 5) g (x 30) h (x 30) i (x 5) j (x 10) http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 80 of 86 figure 3. total ion chromatograms and mass chromatograms of the extracts analyzed using the hypercarb column. samples 1–4 were white, 5–6 were ocher, and 7–8 were brawn. the following ions were monitored (numbers in brackets indicate magnification). a: positive ion, b: negative ion, c: m/z 399.1460 (m+ ion of s‐adenosylmethionine [3]). 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 4 3 12 (min) a b c (x 25) 96 (min) 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 3 3 1296 a b c (x 25) 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 2 3 12 (min)96 a b c (x 25) 3 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 1 3 12 (min)96 a b c (x 25) 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 7 3 12 (min)96 a b c (x 25) 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 5 3 12 (min)96 a b c (x 25) 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 6 3 12 (min)96 a b c (x 25) 0 5 (x10,000,000) sample 8 3 12 (min)96 a b c (x 25) http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 81 of 86 figure 4. total ion chromatograms and mass chromatograms of the extracts analyzed using the ods column. samples 1–4 were white, 5–6 were ocher, and 7–8 were brawn. the following ions were monitored (numbers in brackets indicate magnification). a: positive ion, b: negative ion, c: m/z 393.2227 ([m+h]+ ion of fructose-leucine (isoleucine)-valine and fructose-valine-leucine (isoleucine) [13]), d: m/z 427.2089 ([m+h]+ ion of fructose-phenylalanine-valine and fructosevaline-phenylalanine [14]), e: m/z 407.2393 ([m+h]+ ion of fructose-leucine (isoleucine)-leucine (isoleucine) [15]), f: m/z 441.2226 ([m+h]+ ion of fructose-phenylalanine-leucine (isoleucine) and fructose-leucine (isoleucine)-phenylalanine [16]), g: m/z 298.0950 ([m+h]+ ion of 5'-deoxy-5'-methylthioadenosine [12]). http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 82 of 86 identification of other metabolites in sakekasu: figure 2 (c), (d), (i), and (j) shows the mass chromatograms monitored by the [m+na]+ ion of ethyl glucoside (1, m/z 231.0829), [m+na]+ ion of glyceryl glucosides (2, m/z 277.0897), [m–h]– ion of monosaccharides (7, m/z 179.0575), and [m–h]− ion of disaccharides (8, m/z 341.1105). these sugar derivatives were detected in all samples, although their concentrations varied. ethyl glucoside (1) is particularly abundant in sake; it originates from the unique fermentation method of sake wherein starch saccharification and alcohol fermentation occur simultaneously [27]. ethyl glucoside not only affects the taste of sake but also possesses several functional properties, such as improving skin texture [27, 28]. given that the amount of ethyl glucoside does not depend on the color-tone, it is expected to have a constant functionality. furthermore, glyceryl glucoside (2), which has moisturizing properties, was also detected in sake [29]. considering the differences in the position and conformation of sugar bonds in glycerol, several compounds have been detected, but the analytical conditions used in the present study did not allow them all to be separated. however, they were largely separated as two peaks [figure 2 (d)], possibly owing to the difference in the position of sugar binding in glycerol (2). in addition, their content was not dependent on the color tone of sakekasu. the methanol extracts of each sample were analyzed using an ods column and the results are shown in figure 4. samples 1–4 contained higher amounts of fatty acids [linoleic acid (9), palmitic acid (10), and oleic acid (11)] than brown-colored samples 7 and 8. in figure 4, the mass chromatograms shown in c–f are amadori or heyns products derived from the maillard reaction of sugar and dipeptide monitored by the [m+h]+ ion of the respective compounds, whereas that shown in figure 4 (g) is 5′-deoxy-5′-methylthioadenosine (mta, 12) monitored by the [m+h]+ ion. as shown clearly in figure 4, white sakekasu samples 1–4 contained fewer compounds derived from the maillard reaction of sugar and dipeptides (13–16) than the brown-colored samples 7 and 8. in addition, mta (12) was reduced in samples 7 and 8 [figure 4 (g)], which were ripened. tadenuma et al. reported that mta and its precursor sam are unique to sake and not found in other brews, and that mta is formed from sam during sake storage [30, 31]. they also observed that the elution of sam from yeast increased after the addition of brewing ethanol, indicating that the mta and sam amounts are proportional to the ethanol concentration [30, 31]. considering that the detailed production methods for samples 1–4 analyzed in our study are unknown, we cannot confirm whether such result is a characteristic of the yeast used or of the production process; however, the high mta and sam contents in samples 1–4 may be a characteristic of these samples. moreover, compounds derived from the maillard reaction of sugar and dipeptide tended to be extremely low in samples 1–4 than in other sakekasu samples. the compounds derived from the maillard reaction were annotated by tandem mass spectrometry (ms/ms) analysis. figure 5 shows the ms/ms analysis of the peak of compound 13 observed in the mass chromatogram depicted in figure 4 (c). compound 13 possessed a [m+h]+ ion at m/z 393.2227 with a composition of [c17h32n2o8+h]+. according to the composition of the ions, the amadori or heyns product of a dipeptide was assumed to be composed of hexose, leucine (isoleucine), and valine. andruszkiewicz et al. reported that the reaction of fructose with peptides produces mainly the heyns product and that the reaction of glucose with peptides produces mainly the amadori product [32]. furthermore, yuan et al. investigated in detail the fragmentation attribution in the ms analysis of heyns products [33, 34]. based on these reports, the structure http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 83 of 86 of compound 13 was estimated by ms/ms analysis. the ms/ms analysis of compound 13 from the [m+h]+ ion at m/z 393.2227 detected a [m+h–3h2o–h2co]+ ion at m/z 309.1806 as the characteristic ion, and the ms3 analysis from the [m+h–3h2o–h2co]+ ion provides fragment ions at m/z 150.0916 [frucrose-l(i)-v+h–3h2o–h2co–x2]+ and m/z 164.1070 [frucrose-v-l(i)+h–3h2o–h2co–x2]+, where x2 indicates a type of dipeptide cleavage (figure 5). figure 5 also shows the results of the estimation based on yuan et al.’s report [33, 34]. according to these results, compound 13 is a heyns product composed of fructose (fru) and leucine (isoleucine)-valine or valineleucine (isoleucine). similarly, the ms analysis results considered fru-f-v and fru-v-f as compound 14, fru-l(i)l(i) as compound 15, and fru-f-l(i) and fru-l(i)-f as compound 16. figure 5. msn spectra from m/z 393.2227 ([m+h]+ ion of fructose-leucine [isoleucine]-valine or fructose-valine-leucine [isoleucine] [13]) observed in figure 4, and estimated structure of their ions. l, leucine; i, isoleucine; v, valine. conclusion several types of sakekasu with different color tones were collected and analyzed for major functional ingredients such as gpc and sam. sakekasu with white color had large amounts of gpc and sam. the concentration of gpc in sakekasu was the highest ever found in a food product, and the daily consumption of this product may be sufficient for its efficacy. moreover, compounds with suggested functionality, such as ethyl glucoside and glyceryl glucosides, were detected, and they were not 309.1806 [m+h－3h2o－h2co]+ 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 (m/z) ms2 (m/z 393.2227 →) ms3 (m/z 309.1806 →) 150.0916 [fructose-v-l(i)+h－3h2o－h2co－x2]+ 263.1761 210.1124 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 (m/z) 164.1070 [fructose-l(i)-v+h－3h2o－h2co－x2]+ 196.0975 393.2227 [m+h]+ 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 (m/z) ms 393.2227 fructose-l(i)-v [c17h32n2o8+h]+ 309.1806 [fructose-l(i)-v+h –3h2o–h2co]+ 164.1070 [fructose-l(i)-v+h –3h2o–h2co–x2]+ 393.2227 fructose-v-l(i) [c17h32n2o8+h]+ 309.1806 [fructose-v-l(i)+h –3h2o–h2co]+ 150.0916 [fructose-v-l(i)+h –3h2o–h2co–x2]+ http://www.ffhdj.com/ functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 84 of 86 greatly influenced by color tone (i.e., aging period). furthermore, the dark colored sakekasu samples contained more maillard reaction products of sugars and dipeptides, whereas the white ones showed more fatty acids. through ms/ms based analysis, the maillard reaction products of sugars and dipeptides were assessed. thus, this study has clarified many functional compounds in sakekasu in relation to color tone (i.e., ripening period) and emphasized the potential of sakekasu with white color tone, which are thought to have been aged for a shorter period, as a functional food. further biological studies on sakekasu containing functional components such as gpc and sam are expected. competing interest: there are no conflicts of interest to declare. author contribution: yn analyzed data and editing and revised the manuscript. sm, ym, and 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studies on changes in sake flavor during brewing and storage (4) the changes of s-adenosylmethionine and 5methylthioadenosine. j soc brew jpn 1975, 70:585-587. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.6013/jbrewsocjapan1915.70.585 31. tadenuma m, takahashi k, sato s: studies on the changes of sake flavor with aging (3) s-adenosylmethionine in sake. j soc brew jpn 1975, 70:581-584. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.6013/jbrewsocjapan1915.70.581 http://www.ffhdj.com/ https://www.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.100541 https://www.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.58.1767 https://www.doi.org/10.1021/jf9604706 https://www.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.60613 https://www.doi.org/10.3177/jnsv.51.22 https://www.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.60489 https://www.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.60377 https://www.doi.org/10.1080/09168451.2017.1403883 https://www.doi.org/10.1080/09168451.2018.1559723 https://www.doi.org/10.50828/shuko.42.0_45 https://www.doi.org/10.15482/usda.adc/1178141 https://www.doi.org/10.1021/jf800052y https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2009.05.039 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/nbk68971/ https://www.doi.org/10.3136/nskkk1962.41.878 https://www.doi.org/10.6013/jbrewsocjapan.110.198 https://www.doi.org/10.1271/bbb.64.378 https://www.doi.org/10.6013/jbrewsocjapan1915.70.585 https://www.doi.org/10.6013/jbrewsocjapan1915.70.581 functional foods in health and disease 2023; 14(1):74-86 ffhd page 86 of 86 32. andruszkiewicz pj, d'souza rn, corno m, kuhnert n: novel amadori and heyns compounds derived from short peptides found in dried cocoa beans. food res int 2020, 133:109164. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109164 33. yuan h, sun l, chen m, wang j: the comparison of the contents of sugar, amadori, and heyns compounds in fresh and black garlic. j food sci 2016, 81:c1662-c1668. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.13365 34. yuan h, sun l, chen m, wang j. the simultaneous analysis of amadori and heyns compounds in dried fruits by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. food anal methods 2017, 10:1097-1105. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s12161-016-0669-1 http://www.ffhdj.com/ https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109164 https://www.doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.13365 https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s12161-016-0669-1 approaches to studying the increase in the activity and stability of the recombinant aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 3 (2025): march 2025 / research articles approaches to studying the increase in the activity and stability of the recombinant aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 authors hasmik yepremyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i3.1557 abstract background: optically active amino acids, obtained using the aminoacylase enzyme, play a crucial role in the food, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. researchers have developed approaches to enhance the activity and stability of the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36. various stabilizing reagents—dithiothreitol (dtt), glutathione, mercaptoethanol, ascorbic acid, sodium cyanide and sodium sulfide—were studied, with freezing used as a control for comparison.  results showed that dtt at a concentration of 10-3м facilitated to preserve the activity of the studied enzyme up to 105%.  additionally, the combined use of dtt and co²⁺ ions tripled the enzyme's activity and improved its stability by 2.5 times. notably, that the simultaneous action of dtt and со+2 ions also facilitate enzyme activity regeneration. the most effective way to preserve the activity of the recombinant aminoacylase is to freeze the enzyme.  objective: the objective of the work is to develop approaches to studying the increase in the activity and stability of the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36. methods: recombinant strain-producer of aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 was used in this study. e. coli cells were grown in m9 minimal medium with supplements at 370c. aminoacylase activity was measured at 37°c in a reaction medium with a final volume of 0.2 ml, containing buffer a (100 mm na/k-phosphate buffer, ph 7.0), 0.2 mm cocl₂, 40 mm n-acetyl-d,l-methionine, and the required amount of enzyme. one unit of acylase activity was defined as the amount of the enzyme catalyzing the formation of 1 µmol of l-methionie in 1min at 370c at ph 7.0. results: the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 was obtained using a previously developed method. the effect of various reagents on the stability and activity of the enzyme structure was studied. results showed that dtt stabilized the recombinant aminoacylase up to 105% compared to the control. the combined use of со2+ ions and dtt increases the enzyme activity threefold and increases the stability by 2.5 times. additionally, the simultaneous action of dtt and со+2 ions facilitated the regeneration of the enzyme activity. among the tested methods, freezing proved to be the most effective strategy for preserving the recombinant aminoacylase activity. novelty: this study uniquely demonstrates the synergistic effect of dithiothreitol (dtt) and cobalt ions (co+2) in significantly enhancing both the activity and stability of recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36. this novel approach, including the enzyme's activity regeneration, significantly advances optimizing this industrially important enzyme for producing optically active amino acids. conclusion: the obtained data on the properties of the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase make it possible to more fully characterize the biochemical and physiological features of the aminoacylase of escherichia coli 36, an industrially important enzyme. optically active amino acids obtained by biocatalysis using the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase of escherichia coli lge 36 can serve as a basis for creating new medicinal drugs and biologically active supplements used in the functional food industry. keywords: recombinant aminoacylase, escherichia coli, enzyme, ion metal, reagents, biologically active supplements, functional food industry. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-03-27 issue vol. 15 no. 3 (2025): march 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com a clinical investigation to determine the safety and efficacy of a novel, patented prunus domestica extract in benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph) | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 2 (2025): february 2025 / research articles a clinical investigation to determine the safety and efficacy of a novel, patented prunus domestica extract in benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph) authors s.n. sankhwar narsingh verma naresh patel pawan kumar apurva goel mehul rungta doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i2.1556 abstract background: benign prostate hyperplasia (bph) is defined as a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that is frequently observed in males over 50 years. the major symptoms of the disease involve difficulty urinating, urine dripping, incomplete bladder emptying, and, in severe cases, urine backflow that may lead to kidney infections. conventional treatments, such as alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonists and type 2 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, are often associated with significant side effects. in contrast, conventional drugs are based on alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonists or type 2 5-alpha reductase inhibitors; phototherapeutics —especially phytosterols from the plum family, prunus domestica and prunus africana—have shown promise in bph treatment by lowering prolactin and cholesterol levels in the prostate. objectives: this research aimed to conduct a robust clinical trial to evaluate the effects of prosman™, a novel patented and standardized extract of prunus domestica, in patients aged 40–65 suffering from bph. material and methods: an open-labeled single-armed study on 140 male patients of bph aged 40-65 years. prosmantm was administered in a dosage of 100 mg twice a day for 12 weeks, with follow-ups at weeks 4, 8, and 12. efficacy was evaluated through biochemical tests, including blood tests for prostate-specific antigen (psa), ultrasound, and urinary flow tests. safety was assessed through analysis of various blood parameters, including hemoglobin, total leukocyte count, differential leucocyte count, sgot, sgpt, and alp levels, along with monitoring urea and creatinine levels. results: prunus domestica extract (prosmantm) was efficacious and effective in alleviating bph in subjects, as confirmed, evidenced by a reduction in ipss score, prostate volume, and serum psa levels. no significant adverse changes were observed in the hematological parameters. conclusion: prunus domestica extract (prosmantm) can, therefore, be explored as a safe and effective phototherapeutics for the development of novel treatment procedures for bph. keywords: benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph); prunus domestica; clinical investigation; urinary dysfunction, prostate enlargement; prostate specific antigen (psa); ultrasound; safety downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-03-01 issue vol. 15 no. 2 (2025): february 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com expression ratio of pd-1 on the t cell surface and tgf-β levels in acute and chronic brucellosis: a marker of immune evasion | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 / research articles expression ratio of pd-1 on the t cell surface and tgf-β levels in acute and chronic brucellosis: a marker of immune evasion authors sarah kassab shandaway al-zamali iman mohammad said jallod shahad saad mohammed sara aqeel hassan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i10.1763 abstract background: brucellosis is considered a zoonotic disease characterized by the ability of brucella spp. to evade host immune responses and establish chronic infections. key immune-regulatory molecules, such as transforming growth factor-beta (tgf-β) and programmed death-1 (pd-1), may play a central role in this immune evasion. objective: the present study had a gold target to compare the expression of pd-1 on cd4⁺ and cd8⁺ t cells, as well as serum levels of tgf-β level between patients with acute or chronic brucellosis relative to those in healthy controls. it also aimed to assess their prospective roles as immunological markers of advancing and persistent disease. methods: in the present study, we recruited a total of 60 confirmed brucellosis patients , about 30 of both acute and chronic, as well as 30 healthy controls. the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was reliant on the measurement of serum tgf-β levels, and flow cytometry assisted in the identification of pd-1 expression among cd4 ⁺ and cd8 ⁺ t cells. correlation analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between tgf-β levels and pd-1 expression. results: patients with acute brucellosis exhibited significantly higher levels of pd-1 on cd4⁺ and cd8⁺ t lymphocytes than that of chronic patients and healthy individuals (p < 0.05). patients with chronic brucellosis also showed increased pd-1 levels compared with controls. no significant difference was found between both acute and chronic brucellosis stages but serum level of tgf-β in both cases differed significantly from control (p < 0.05). plasma tgf-β was highly positively correlated with pd-1 expression (r = 0.99, p < 0.0001) indicating that they could act co-operatively to suppress immunity. novelty: the present study sheds novel light on the immunological basis of brucellosis infection, especially about immune escape. it illustrates the correlation of pd-1 expression with tgf-β levels, as a biomarker for disease monitoring and also as a therapeutic target. these results provide a new insight into the host–pathogen interplay that may contribute to designing therapeutic interventions for reactivating antimicrobial immune responses in chronic brucellosis. conclusion: the ultimate conclusions of our study are that the immune suppression in patients infected with brucellosis infections is due to the product of higher levels serum tgf-β and increased expression levels of pd-1 on cd4⁺ and cd8⁺ t cells. the strong association of tgf-β and pd-1 suggests a controlling program that facilitates brucella persistence. the examined markers look to be promising targets for therapy of immunological dysfunction in chronic brucellosis and could serve as the indicators for the monitoring of disease. keywords: brucellosis, chronic infection (ci), immune evasion, pd-1, tgf-β, t cell exhaustion. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-10-16 issue vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com restorative effect of bean ferritin iron on low hemoglobin level in premenopausal women with menstruation-induced anemia: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled intergroup trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 / research articles restorative effect of bean ferritin iron on low hemoglobin level in premenopausal women with menstruation-induced anemia: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled intergroup trial authors ryuji takeda yuji kuriyama yasushi yoshida doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i3.1331 abstract background: recently, bean ferritin has been attracting considerable attention as a new source of iron, that is available to vegetarians. although high rates of iron absorption and bioavailability from this protein have been reported, clinical data on its efficacy remain scarce. objective: in this study, we administered bean ferritin iron to premenopausal japanese women for nine weeks, starting immediately after menstruation, to evaluate their recovery from low hemoglobin levels as one sign of anemia. methods: participants in the test supplement group received an iron intake of 5 mg from one capsule containing bean extract (sloiron®) for five weeks, which was increased to 10 mg (i.e., two capsules) from the 6th to the 9th week. the study evaluated the change in hemoglobin levels as the primary endpoint, and hematocrit, red blood cell count, serum iron, mch (mean corpuscular hemoglobin), mchc (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), serum ferritin, tsat (tibc), serum zinc, serum copper, anemia symptoms questionnaire, osa sleep inventory, and the anti-fatigue questionnaire as the secondary endpoints. results: our results showed a significant difference (p=0.03) in the change in hemoglobin levels between the groups after nine weeks of intake, confirming the restorative effect of bean ferritin on low hemoglobin levels caused by menstruation. moreover, a significant difference (p=0.01) was observed in the amount of change in mchc between the two groups after five weeks of intake, and after nine weeks of intake, a significant difference in the change in both mch (p=0.02) and mchc (p<0.01) was observed between the groups. a significant difference (p=0.03) was observed in the change in serum ferritin levels after nine weeks of intake. conclusion: the study confirmed that iron supplementation from bean ferritin is an effective treatment for low hemoglobin and low ferritin levels caused by menstruation. keywords: ferritin, bean ferritin, menstruation, serum iron, hemoglobin downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-03-13 issue vol. 14 no. 3 (2024): march 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of leu-asp-gln-trp-enriched whey protein hydrolysate on mood and fatigue in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 / research articles effects of leu-asp-gln-trp-enriched whey protein hydrolysate on mood and fatigue in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial authors mayu nakatsuka kazumi nabeshima ryo sakiyama soichiro sato manabu nakano miyuki tanaka masahiko nakamura doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i12.1843 abstract background: mental health concerns and fatigue are increasingly prevalent among healthy adults. this study evaluated the effects of whey protein hydrolysate (wph) enriched with the functional tetrapeptide leu-asp-gln-trp (ldqw) on mood state and fatigue. methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study was conducted on 112 healthy adults aged 18 to 64 years. participants were randomly assigned to receive either an active food containing 1.0 g of mwph (wph with 0.1% of ldqw) or a placebo food daily for 12 weeks. the primary outcome was mood state using the profile of mood states-short form 2nd edition (poms2-sf), and the secondary outcome was fatigue, evaluated using the visual analog scale (vas). results: the active group showed significant improvements in several poms2-sf scores (total mood disturbance, depression-dejection, fatigue-inertia, and friendliness) compared with the placebo group at 12 weeks. notably, the active group showed significant improvements in the vigor-activity score of poms2-sf compared to the placebo group, at as early as 4 weeks, which persisted throughout the study. the vas score for shoulder discomfort also significantly improved in the active group compared with the placebo group at 4 weeks and beyond. no adverse events related to the test foods were observed. conclusions: daily intake of the wph enriched with ldqw improved mood state, reduced fatigue, and relieved shoulder discomfort, providing benefits for both mental and physical health. trial registration: the study protocol was registered with umin-ctr (id: umin000054349). keywords: whey protein hydrolysate; mood; fatigue; shoulder discomfort; ldqw; functional peptides downloads [abstract] [full article] [supplementary data] published 2025-12-12 issue vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 mayu nakatsuka, kazumi nabeshima, ryo sakiyama, soichiro sato, manabu nakano, miyuki tanaka, masahiko nakamura this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com clinical assessment of cl22209, a standardized proprietary extract of asparagus racemosus , for mitigating vasomotor and menstrual symptoms in perimenopausal women:  a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 / research articles clinical assessment of cl22209, a standardized proprietary extract of asparagus racemosus, for mitigating vasomotor and menstrual symptoms in perimenopausal women:  a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study authors poonam yadav suman yadav sai sarada vedururu gayatri kiumari doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i7.1684 abstract background: vasomotor symptoms (vms) and menstrual discomfort are prevalent and distressing manifestations during the menopausal transition in women, significantly impairing the quality of life (qol). asparagus racemosus willd. (family: asparagaceae) (shatavari), a revered rasayana herb in ayurvedic medicine, has long been used to support female reproductive health.  objective: we investigated the therapeutic potential of cl22209, a standardized a racemosus root extract, in early perimenopausal women. precisely, it assessed the extract’s ability to alleviate vasomotor symptoms, menstrual discomfort, and hormonal dysregulation through a comprehensive evaluation of symptom scores, reproductive hormone levels, ovarian follicle counts, and patient-reported outcomes, and ensuring its safety and tolerability over a 120-day supplementation. methods: in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation, 75 early perimenopausal women (aged 40–50 years) with mild-to-moderate vms were assigned to receive either cl22209 (50or 100 mg/day) or placebo over a period of 120 consecutive days. the primary endpoint was the change in total menopausal rating scale (mrs) scores. secondary outcomes included hot flash weekly weighted score (hfwws), menstrual symptom questionnaire (msq) score, follicle count via ultrasonography, and serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (fsh), luteinizing hormone (lh), anti-müllerian hormone (amh), and 17β-estradiol (e2) in the participants. skin and hair quality, as well as patient-reported outcomes, were also assessed. safety and tolerability were evaluated through monitoring of hematology, clinical biochemistry, urinalysis, and adverse events. results: supplementation with cl22209 at both 50 mg and 100 mg/day significantly reduced mrs scores and hfwws as compared to baseline and placebo (p < 0.001). menstrual symptoms, particularly spasmodic and congestive dysmenorrhea, showed marked improvement. notably, a dose-dependent modulation of fsh, lh, amh, and e2 levels was observed. no serious adverse events were reported. conclusion: cl22209 demonstrates the efficacy and safety profile as a natural, non-hormonal intervention for alleviating perimenopausal symptoms, providing clinical benefits in symptom reduction, hormonal regulation, and dermatological well-being. the study provides the first clinical evidence of cl22209’s dual central and peripheral endocrine modulation, positioning it as a novel functional food for integrative women's health support during the menopausal transition. keywords: asparagus racemosus (shatavari), functional food, hormonal balance, menopausal rating scale (mrs), perimenopause. phytoestrogens, safety, vasomotor symptoms. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-07-23 issue vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com seaberry ursolic acid improves daytime frequency and urgency of urination in healthy japanese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 / research articles seaberry ursolic acid improves daytime frequency and urgency of urination in healthy japanese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial authors norihito shimizu ryoma shimizu masahiro yagihashi kazunori goto hiroshi shimoda marina hirano hiroyuki shimizu shizuo yamada doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i6.1631 abstract background and objective: the fruit of seaberry (hippophae rhamnoides), which exerts anti-hypertensive, hypoglycemic, anti-obesity, and immunomodulatory effects, contains triterpenoids, namely ursolic acid. we previously reported that seaberry-derived ursolic acid suppressed urination frequency and anxiety related to urination in japanese subjects; however, some subjects were patients with mild overactive bladder (oab). therefore, we conducted a clinical trial on the effects of ursolic acid supplementation on urination frequency and urination scores in healthy japanese subjects.  methods: eighty out of 256 registered volunteers were enrolled in the present study. this was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. all subjects were randomly allocated by the stratified block randomization method into the ursolic acid group (n=40) or placebo group (n=40). tablets containing ursolic acid (0.2 mg/day) or placebo were administered for 8 weeks between january and march 2024. a voiding diary and the core lower urinary tract symptom score (clss) were the primary outcomes. the secondary outcomes were the oab and king’s health questionnaire (khq). a safety analysis measured blood, urine, and other body parameters.  results: the per-protocol set comprised 35 subjects in the ursolic acid group and 32 in the placebo group. daytime urination frequency significantly decreased after 3 weeks of ursolic acid supplementation, and a significant correlation between the number of daytime urinations and time was detected in the ursolic acid group. no significant differences were observed in other scores or parameters in the safety analysis. conclusions: the intake of ursolic acid (0.2 mg/day) reduced daytime urination frequency and urgency. therefore, seaberry ursolic acid can potentially manage urgent urination in healthy subjects. novelty: this study presents the novel finding that a low-dose (0.2 mg/day) ursolic acid supplementation derived from seaberry significantly reduces daytime urination frequency after 3 weeks and the urgency of urination in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial conducted explicitly on healthy japanese adults. trial registration: umin-ctr: umin000052848 foundation: oryza oil & fat chemical co., ltd. keywords: ursolic acid; seaberry; urination; overactive bladder; core lower urinary tract symptom score; king’s health questionnaire; bioactive compounds downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-06-04 issue vol. 15 no. 6 (2025): june 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com comparison of the antihypertensive effect of maguey ( agave salmiana ) sap concentrate extracts by in vitro and in vivo tests | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 / research articles comparison of the antihypertensive effect of maguey (agave salmiana) sap concentrate extracts by in vitro and in vivo tests authors bethsua mendoza mendoza ana guadalupe estrada fernández zuli guadalupe calderon georgina almaguer vargas ernesto alanís garcía doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i10.1733 abstract introduction: the use of antihypertensive drugs causes side effects that lead to treatment discontinuation; therefore, plants containing polyphenols and saponins represent a viable alternative. previous studies indicate that maguey sap concentrate (sc) contains these bioactive compounds. the objective of this study was to compare the antihypertensive effect of maguey sc extracts through in vitro and in vivo tests. methods: in the in vitro study, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ace) inhibition was measured with butanolic and methanolic extracts of sc (100-250 ppm). for the in vivo tests, 48 male wistar rats were divided into 6 groups: negative control (c), positive control (e): enalapril (25 mg/kg/day), be1 and be2: butanolic extracts (250 and 500 mg/kg/day) and me1 and me2: methanolic extracts (500 and 750 mg/kg/day). their blood pressure was measured once a week for 28 days. in addition, blood samples were taken to determine glucose, creatinine, c-reactive protein, cholesterol, sodium potassium, calcium, and platelet count. at the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed, and their livers, kidneys, and hearts were preserved for histopathological analysis. results: both extracts showed ace inhibition greater than 90%. all treatments, except c, showed a decrease in blood pressure at 28 days; however, the me2 treatment had an effect like that of enalapril (p>0.05). blood test results showed an increase in glucose levels, although within normal parameters, c-reactive protein levels are outside or above the maximum allowed limit except in those treated with enalapril. this research demonstrates for the first time the antihypertensive effect of methanolic and butanolic extracts obtained from maguey sap concentrate, opening the possibility of using them in the production of functional foods, as well as promoting the production and consumption of maguey sap, adding value to this natural resource. conclusion: the results of this study introduce the possibility of further exploring the bioactive compounds in aguamiel concentrate. although the methanolic extract was able to lower blood pressure, it should only be considered as an adjunct to pharmacological treatments, and the possible toxicological effect of the extracts in the long term should be explored in greater detail. keywords: hypertension; sap; aguamiel; agave; saponins; antioxidants downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-10-01 issue vol. 15 no. 10 (2025): october 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com yeast whey-enriched bread: nutritional profile and potential functional relevance | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles yeast whey-enriched bread: nutritional profile and potential functional relevance authors valeri bagiyan anna zakoyan arshaluys verdyan narine ghazanchyan marina kinosyan tamara davidyan baghish harutyunyan susanna hovhannisyan tigran soghomonyan vigen goginyan avetis tsaturyan karine chitchyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1745 abstract background: microorganisms are an innovative biotechnological option for creating new yeast whey-enriched bread. products obtained with the help of microorganisms can have a beneficial effect on human health and be successfully used in the food industry, as well as in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical fields. the biotechnological potential of yeast and lactic acid bacteria is confirmed by their wide application in the fermentation of food products. at the same time, autochthonous strains in different matrices often demonstrate higher functional and technological indicators, which justify the microbiological perspective of their potential use in obtaining yeast whey-enriched bread. in this regard, it is of interest to study the potential of autochthonous cultures of yeast and lactic acid bacteria of ttkhmor bread sourdough used in armenia since ancient times. objective: the study aims to isolate indigenous yeasts from ttkhmor and explore their potential for developing prototype of enriched bread for health. novelty: this work advances prototype of enriched bread development by leveraging a two-stage co-cultivation of indigenous yeast and lactic acid bacteria in whey, yielding high yeast biomass and improving shelf life and spoilage resistance versus commercial yeast controls—while maintaining comparable physicochemical quality. the approach links sustainable whey valorization with measurable technological and nutritional benefits. methods: samples of ttkhmor and handicraft production dough were collected from rural areas of armenia. yeast α-glucosidase activity was determined in yeletsky gasometric device. the nutritional value of bakery products was researched by analyzing the amino acid composition of yeast strain proteins. the quality indicators of bread were studied by physicochemical parameters. sensory assessment of bread quality was carried out by closed tasting of the samples under study. results: more than 150 ttkhmor samples were collected from different geographical zones of armenia. a total of 498 yeast isolates and 338 lab isolates were obtained from the ttkhmor samples. seven representative strains selected from the yeasts with high fermentation activity were subjected to species identification by sequencing. the yeast strain saccharomyces cerevisiae sevan-60 (deposited in microbial depository center under the number mdc-9792) isolated from the ttkhmor of tsaghkunk village, sevan region (mountain zone) was selected based on its antimicrobial activity against bacillus subtilis and biochemical characteristics. the biological value of the yeast biomass of strain sevan-60 is characterized by a high content of essential and aromatic amino acids. the parameters used for strain evaluation were related to enzymatic activity and utilization of lactic acid as the sole carbon source. conclusion: taken together, the above studies indicate the potential of using ttkhmor microorganisms in creating yeast whey-enriched bread. a method has been developed for two-stage co-cultivation of lactic acid bacteria and the indigenous s. cerevisiae sevan-60 strain to obtain fermented whey with a high yeast biomass yield of 47 g/l for use in baking. bread quality assessment showed that bread baked using fermented whey, with comparable physicochemical parameters (volume yield and porosity), was superior to the control bread prepared with commercial industrial yeast in terms of spoilage resistance and longer shelf life. at the same time, the experimental yeast whey-enriched bread combines all the useful components of a functional product characteristic of the combined use of yeast, lab, and whey, in particular, high functional indicators of yeast protein as well as whey protein. keywords: ttkhmor, yeast, lab, whey proteins, baking, prototype of enriched bread, human health. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-12 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 valeri bagiyan, anna zakoyan, arshaluys verdyan, narine ghazanchyan, marina kinosyan, tamara davidyan, baghish harutyunyan, susanna hovhannisyan, tigran soghomonyan, vigen goginyan, avetis tsaturyan, karine chitchyan this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com dynamics of bioactive substances accumulation during cauliflower maturation as a way to ensure functional crop properties | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 / research articles dynamics of bioactive substances accumulation during cauliflower maturation as a way to ensure functional crop properties authors laura tadevosyan gayane martirosyan irina tsereteli irina vardanyan meruzhan zadayan alvina avagyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i11.1197 abstract background: cauliflower heads are recognized as a rich sources of proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, numerous mineral elements, vitamins, and a high content of bioactive substances. some studies report that the dynamics of accumulation of bioactive substances in cauliflower can be influenced by various factors.   objective: to determine the dependence of the content of bioactive components (ascorbic acid, b vitamins, macronutrients) on the stage of maturity of cauliflower heads and on the growing period. methods: the study investigated the variation in vitamin c, b group vitamins (thiamine, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, nicotinic acid, inositol), and seven macronutrients (silicon, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, potassium) during different stages of head ripening and cultivation periods in medium-ripening hybrids of cauliflower, specifically ‘rocky f1’ and ‘unibotra f1’. ascorbic acid content in cauliflower heads was determined by the titration method. quantitative analysis of the water-soluble b group vitamins was performed spectrophotometrically. the content of macronutrients was determined by the chemical-spectral method. results: the maximum content of ascorbic acid in cauliflower rocky f1 hybrid was observed at the stage of the heads technical ripening in spring cultivation conditions, and in unibotra f1 hybrid in the phase of new head formation in summer growing conditions.  the content of group b vitamins, with the exception of pantothenic acid, was high in newly formed heads in both studied hybrids. in the conditions of spring cultivation, most of the studied macronutrients were high for rocky f1 hybrid in the stage of technical ripening of heads, and for unibotra f1 hybrid in the phase of new head formation (si, al, na, p) and in middle ripening stage (ca, mg). under the conditions of summer cultivation, most of the macronutrients were high for rocky f1 hybrid in the phase of new head formation, and in unibotra f1 hybrid si, al, p were high in the phase of new head formation, and ca, mg, k in middle ripening stage.  conclusion: the content of bioactive components (ascorbic acid, b vitamins, macronutrients) in cauliflower heads is influenced by the stage of cauliflower maturity and the cultivation period (spring, summer). this should be taken into account when developing targeting diets and growing cauliflower in semi-desert zones of the republic of armenia. keywords: ascorbic acid, b vitamins, macronutrients, cauliflower head ripening stage downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2023-11-10 issue vol. 13 no. 11 (2023): november 2023 section research articles license authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com integrative effects of an oral supplement mixture containing melon, yeast extract, and licorice on skin pigmentation reduction: insights from a zebrafish model and a randomized double-blind controlled pilot human trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / research articles integrative effects of an oral supplement mixture containing melon, yeast extract, and licorice on skin pigmentation reduction: insights from a zebrafish model and a randomized double-blind controlled pilot human trial authors jiani zheng jing sun xinyi zeng danyang yu peng chen weiguo zhang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1747 abstract introduction: intrinsic aging (e.g., genetic and metabolic changes) and extrinsic factors (e.g., sun exposure and environmental pollution) contribute to skin pigmentation and aged facial appearance. plant extracts, known for their antioxidant properties, may influence skin pigmentation both directly and indirectly through pigment metabolism in the liver, potentially mitigating the effects of aging. objective: this study investigates the effects of a mixture of melon, yeast extract, and licorice (mix) oral supplement on liver metabolism and skin pigmentation. methods: a zebrafish model of chemical liver injury was established using acetaminophen (apap). liver and yolk sac areas were analyzed, and uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1a1 (ugt1a1) activity and total bilirubin content were measured to assess the supplement’s protective effects. additionally, a zebrafish pigmentation model was induced with menadione, and yolk sac pigmentation intensity was analyzed. a pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted with 22 healthy female volunteers randomly assigned to either the experimental or placebo group. participants consumed 700 mg of the mixture (mix) daily for 8 weeks. skin brightness (l*), yellowness (b*), individual typology angle (ita°), and melanin index (mi) were measured using a skin colorimeter (cl 400), melanin meter (mx 18), and visia 7 at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. results: in the zebrafish liver injury model, the mixture group（mix group）showed a significant increase in liver surface area, a decrease in yolk sac area, increased ugt1a1 activity, and reduced total bilirubin levels compared to the model control group. in the zebrafish pigmentation model, yolk sac pigmentation intensity was lower in the mixture group（mix group）. the pilot human trial demonstrated that participants taking the mixture (mix) experienced significant improvements in skin brightness (l*) and ita°, along with reductions in skin yellowness (b*) and melanin index (mi) after 4 and 8 weeks.  conclusion: an oral supplement comprising bioactive compounds from melon, yeast extract, and licorice effectively reduce skin pigmentation and supports liver pigment metabolism. this formulation, with its demonstrated functional food properties, suggests potential as an anti-aging intervention.  keywords: skin pigmentation; liver; oral supplements; plant extracts; antioxidants; zebrafish downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-09-05 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com potential of pandan anggur (sararanga sinuosa hemsley) as immunomodulator | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 / research articles potential of pandan anggur (sararanga sinuosa hemsley) as immunomodulator authors paula lefaan agnes murdiati dwi larasatie nur fibr nurliyani doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i7.1378 abstract background: pandan anggur plant is an endemic plant of the papua archipelago in indonesia, and the fruit called pandan anggur fruit (paf) is freshly consumed or prepared as a juice. based on previous studies on the phytochemical content of paf, the ethanol and water extract contain flavonoids, which act as immunomodulators, to regulate the response of immunity.  objectives: this study aimed to examine the potential of paf as an immunomodulator in malnutrition cases, by evaluating six parameters which are phagocytosis capacity and nitric oxide (no) production of peritoneal macrophage, spleen lymphocyte proliferation, ifn-γ  and il-4 in lymphocyte culture, and intestinal siga levels. by proving the potential of paf as an immunomodulator, this research will lead to significant development of functional food products of pandan anggur.  methods: a total of 35 sprague dawley rats were used as animal models divided into seven different groups named standard group (healthy standard), malnourished (negative control), malnourished rats given imboost force (positive control), as well as paf ethanol extract doses of  i, ii, iii, and paf water extract. the treatment lasted for seven weeks in total and the measurement of immunomodulator parameters was carried out at the end of the treatment period. the immunomodulator parameters included phagocytosis capacity and nitric oxide (no) production of peritoneal macrophage, spleen lymphocyte proliferation, ifn-γ  and il-4 in lymphocyte culture, and intestinal siga levels.  result: the results indicated that the administration of paf ethanol extract at a dose of 3.15 mg/ml provided an optimum immunostimulant effect, by increasing the macrophage phagocytosis capacity, nitric oxide, lymphocyte proliferation, il-4, and siga levels in rat intestine. however, increasing the dose of extract did not produce a better effect, but led to suppression of immunity.  conclusion: paf extract at a dose of 3.15 mg/ml provides an immunostimulant effect.  keywords:  in vivo, il-4, if-γ, siga, lymphocyte proliferation, macrophage, pandan anggur fruit downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-07-08 issue vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the journey of ayurvedic medicines to nutraceuticals | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 / review articles the journey of ayurvedic medicines to nutraceuticals authors mehakpreet kaur tandra chakraborty doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i7.1656 abstract this review examines the historical evolution of the ancient indian medical system, ayurveda, through its precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial eras, along with its transformation into the modern framework of nutraceuticals. the article explores how prakriti and the tridosha theory connect to genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, highlighting how doshic imbalances correlate with key molecular pathways involved in inflammation, metabolism, and stress regulation. integrating traditional ayurvedic perspectives with biomedical research supports ayurveda as a promising foundation for advancing personalized healthcare and preventive medicine. during and after the covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant global shift toward natural, accessible health solutions. this led to substantial growth in the nutraceutical market. nutraceuticals are  bioactive compounds derived from foods and herbs that provide health benefits by acting as preventive or therapeutic agents in managing chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, neurodegenerative conditions, and cancer. for example, nutraceuticals such as curcumin, resveratrol, and ashwagandha have been shown to modulate gene expression, influence cellular signaling pathways, and reduce oxidative stress, allowing them to enhance an individual’s disease resilience. ultimately, this review highlights the continued relevance of ayurveda in the form of nutraceuticals, advancing holistic and integrative global health.  keywords: ayurveda, tridosha, prakriti, nutraceuticals, epigenetics, neurodegenerative diseases, preventative healthcare, metabolism, colonialism, stress, holistic medicine downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-07-24 issue vol. 15 no. 7 (2025): july 2025 section review articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com dietary intake of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts decreases fecal calprotectin levels in patients with ulcerative colitis | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 / research articles dietary intake of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts decreases fecal calprotectin levels in patients with ulcerative colitis authors akinori yanaka toshihide ohmori masanori ochi hideo suzuki doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i10.1440 abstract background: ulcerative colitis (uc), which is linked to chronic oxidative stress, has been on the rise in japan, attributed to the recent westernization of dietary habits.  sulforaphane, which is abundant in broccoli sprouts (bs), has been shown to enhance antioxidant activity by up-regulating nrf2-mediated antioxidant enzymes. we have previously shown that the dietary intake of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts mitigates h.pylori-induced gastritis not only by enhancing nrf2-dependent anti-oxidant activity against oxidative stress from h.pylori infection, but also by directly inhibiting h.pylori activity (cancer prev res 2:353-360,2009). in this study, we examined if the dietary approach with bs affects intestinal microbiota, thereby mitigating colonic inflammation in mesalazine-treated human uc patients. objective: in this study, we examined if dietary intake of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts decreases fecal calprotectin levels in patients with ulcerative colitis methods: this study was registered with the university hospital medical information network (umin) in japan under the clinical trial registration number, umin000041972. twenty-eight mild uc patients treated with mesalazine were divided between the sulforaphane-rich bs group (n=14) or the sulforaphane-free alfalfa sprouts (as) group (n=14). these subjects were instructed to take 20 g of raw bs or as daily for 8 weeks, with bs containing 4.4 mg/g glucoraphanin, a precursor of sulforaphane, and as containing no glucoraphanin. stool samples were obtained just before and after the 8 weeks sprouts treatment. levels of fecal calprotectin were measured as the quantitative indices for colonic mucosal inflammation. we conducted an examination of gut bacteria through a method called terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (tr-flp) analysis of fecal samples.  results: 1. twelve patients from the bs group and 11 from the as group completed the intervention study as requested. 2. only the treatment with bs caused a significant decrease in the level of fecal calprotectin as well as an increase in the fecal component of clostridium subcluster iv and xiva, which have been reported to enhance butyrate production. 3. there was no change in the clinical activity index after intake of either the bs or the as.  conclusion: these results indicate that dietary approach with sulforaphane-rich bs mitigates colonic inflammation in mesalazine-treated uc patients. our data also suggest that the beneficial effects of the bs may be related with the increase in butyrate-producing intestinal microbiota by dietary approach with sulforaphane. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-10-10 issue vol. 14 no. 10 (2024): october 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of ginger extract powder e on attention as a cognitive function: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled parallel study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / clinical trial effects of ginger extract powder e on attention as a cognitive function: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled parallel study authors naoki nakamura yuichi sano naoko suzuki tsuyoshi takara doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1714 abstract background/objectives: ginger extract powder e is a heat-processed ginger preparation enriched in 6-shogaol.. it has been reported to reduce fatigue caused by desk workload, as well as eye fatigue and shoulder stiffness. however, there is a lack of research investigating the effects of ginger extract powder e on cognitive function. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of ginger extract powder e intake on cognitive function after visual display terminal (vdt) work in healthy adults who experienced eye fatigue and reduced concentration during the task. methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted on 88 healthy adult male and female aged 21 to 73 years. participants were randomly assigned to receive either a test food containing ginger extract powder e (100 mg) or a placebo daily for 12 weeks. participants were assessed at weeks 0 and 12 using cognitrax and the critical flicker-fusion frequency after 60 minutes of vdt work. results: at 12 weeks of intervention, the primary outcome—complex attention score on the cognitrax assessment—was significantly higher in the ginger extract powder e group compared with the placebo group, with values exceeding the mean. conclusions: the results suggest that continuous intake of ginger extract powder e prevents attention decline induced by vdt work and helps maintain concentration. additionally, no adverse events were observed under the conditions of this study, and there were no safety issues. trial registration: jrct 1030240208 keywords: ginger extract; vdt work; attention; concentration; cognitive function downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-09-18 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section clinical trial license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com enhancing the functional value of watermelon through study of bioactive compounds and grafting potential in armenia | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 / research articles enhancing the functional value of watermelon through study of bioactive compounds and grafting potential in armenia authors gayane martirosyan alvina avagyan ravza mavlyanova gayane sargsyan zara harutunyan hasmik terteryan aregnaz nazaretyan gagik santrosyan iryna vardanian doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i8.1744 abstract background: watermelon (citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai) is a nutritionally valuable fruit, rich in bioactive compounds such as lycopene, β-carotene, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, citrulline, cucurbitacin, vitamins (b, a, c), and essential minerals. these components contribute to numerous health benefits, including antibacterial, anti-atherosclerotic, cardiovascular protective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. this makes watermelon increasingly significant both nutritionally and economically. in armenia, watermelon is a highly demanded crop; however, its cultivation in the armavir marz is frequently challenged by biotic and abiotic stresses, resulting in wilting and yield reduction. grafting technology offers an effective and environmentally friendly solution to enhance yield, improve fruit quality, and increase resistance to various stresses. objective: this study aimed to evaluate the impact of grafting on watermelon yield, disease resistance, and the content of key bioactive compounds, with the goal of enhancing its functional value. methods: seven watermelon f1 hybrids (es75077, es75095, es75111, es75126, es75127, es75169, es75171) were used as scions and grafted onto the bottle gourd (lagenaria siceraria) rootstock es101 from the ergon seed company using the tongue approach. throughout the growing season, phenological observations and yield component assessments were conducted. the content of ascorbic acid (aa), total phenolic content (tpc), lycopene, and sugars was determined spectrophotometrically. the presence of fusarium oxysporum was detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qpcr) to quantify infection rates and assess the resistance of grafted combinations. all experimental data were statistically analyzed using anova. results: grafting significantly increased the productivity of all watermelon varieties, up to 2.1 times compared to non-grafted plants. the most notable increases were observed in variants es75127 (2.1-fold) and es75171 (1.9-fold). this enhanced yield is primarily attributed to an increase in average fruit weight (ranging from 8 kg to 14 kg) and a higher number of fruits per plant, likely due to the rootstock's robust system enhancing water and nutrient uptake. furthermore, grafting substantially improved the fruits’ nutritional quality. lycopene content in grafted plants increased by 1.1 to 2.3 mg/100 g fresh weight compared to non-grafted counterparts, with variants es75127 and es75111 demonstrating particularly high levels of lycopene, ascorbic acid, and total phenolic content. phytosanitary assessments confirmed that grafted plants exhibited significantly lower infection rates of fusarium oxysporum, thereby enhancing resistance and mitigating disease impact, especially in lines es75127 and es75111. novelty: this is the first study to introduce watermelon grafting in armenia, offering a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to combat soil-borne diseases and improve yields. grafted plants not only display enhanced vegetative vigor but also show elevated levels of bioactive compounds, thereby improving both functional food potential and agricultural performance. conclusion: grafting is an effective strategy for enhancing both the productivity and nutritional profile of watermelon, especially regarding bioactive compounds associated with health benefits. our comparative analysis identified the grafted variant es75127 as the most productive, excelling in lycopene, ascorbic acid, total phenolics, and sugar content, while also exhibiting strong resistance to fusarium oxysporum. keywords: watermelon, lycopene, ascorbic acid, total phenols, fusarium resistance, productivity downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-08-15 issue vol. 15 no. 8 (2025): august 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com anti-type 2 diabetes mellitus activity of citrus reticulata -derived materials: mechanistic insights from integrated network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro assays | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 / research articles anti-type 2 diabetes mellitus activity of citrus reticulata-derived materials: mechanistic insights from integrated network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro assays authors hanhua wang mingyue li yanyue wang doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i12.1802 abstract background: citrus reticulata-derived materials (crdmm) are representative medicinal and edible resources, yet their systematic evaluation for anti-type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm) potential remains to be fully elucidated. objective: this study aimed to investigate the anti-t2dm potential of crdmm and explore the underlying mechanisms of action using an integrated experimental and computational approach.  results: in vitro assays demonstrated significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity across 16 crdmm extracts, with guangchenpi exhibiting the strongest potency (ic₅₀: 2.5–3.8 mg/ml). network pharmacology analysis identified 10 active compounds and 74 potential targets, among which akt1, tp53, pparg, and ptgs2 were highlighted as core targets via protein-protein interaction analysis. pathway enrichment suggested involvement in lipid metabolism and inflammatory pathways. molecular docking confirmed strong binding affinities (< –7.0 kcal/mol) between key flavonoids (e.g., neohesperidin_qt and nobiletin) and the core targets. admet predictions indicated favorable drug-likeness, despite potential nephrotoxicity risks.  novelty: this study is the first to integrate multi-approach validation—combining in vitro bioactivity, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and admet profiling—to systematically reveal that crdmm exerts anti-t2dm effects via a multi-component, multi-target mechanism.  conclusion: the results provide a scientific basis for developing crdmm as functional food ingredients or dietary supplements for blood glucose management in t2dm. keywords: citrus reticulata, type 2 diabetes mellitus, α-glucosidase inhibition, network pharmacology, molecular docking, functional food, medicinal-food homology, nobiletin downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-12-10 issue vol. 15 no. 12 (2025): december 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 hanhua wang, mingyue li, yanyue wang this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com some selected properties of the recombinant aminoacylase from   escherichia coli lge 36 | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 / research articles some selected properties of the recombinant aminoacylase from   escherichia coli lge 36 authors hasmik yepremyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i5.1332 abstract background: aminoacylase has seen extensive use in the synthesis of l-amino acids. l-amino acids are widely used in the food and medical industries, as well as in healthcare. the effect of metal ions and inhibitors on the enzyme activity of recombinant intracellular aminoacylase of escherichia coli lge 36 was studied. acetyl-d,l-methionine and glycyl-l-methionine dipeptide were used as substrates. it has been shown that with the addition of co2+ ions, the acylase activity of the recombinant enzyme towards n-acetyl-d,l-methionine increases 3 times. in the case of glycyl-l-methionine, the peptidase activity of the recombinant aminoacylase of escherichia coli lge 36 increases more than 40 times. a number of other metal ions studied do not stimulate the hydrolytic activity of the enzyme, moreover some of them even inhibit it. pcmb completely inactivates the recombinant aminoacylase, edta reduces enzyme activity by 85%. objective: this study aims to investigate how metal ions and inhibitors affect the enzyme activity of recombinant intracellular aminoacylase escherichia coli lge 36. methods: in this study, a recombinant strain-producer of aminoacylase derived from escherichia coli lge 36 was employed. escherichia coli cells were cultured in m9 minimal medium supplemented at 37°c. to assess aminoacylase activity, assays were conducted at 37°c using a reaction mixture of 0.2 ml final volume comprising 100 mm na, k-phosphate buffer at ph 7.0, 0.2 mm coci2, 40 mm n-acetyl-d, l-methionine, and the enzyme in the appropriate concentration. acylase activity was quantified as the amount of enzyme catalyzing the formation of 1µmol of l-methionine within 1 minute at 37°c and ph 7.0. results: some characteristics of the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from e. coli lge 36 were determined.  for investigating the impact of metallic ions and inhibitors, acetylmethionine and glycylmethionine were employed as the substrates. conclusion: the present study and the choice of right strategies for functional food products allows optimizing the process for production of optically active amino acids using the recombinant enzyme to obtain food and feed additives. keywords:  ion, metals, inhibitors, acetylmethionine, glycylmethionine, recombinant aminoacylase from escherichia coli, enzyme. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-05-01 issue vol. 14 no. 5 (2024): may 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com gut microbiome modulation in patients treated with an enriched nutraceutical composition: a multi target strategy | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 / research articles gut microbiome modulation in patients treated with an enriched nutraceutical composition: a multi target strategy authors francesco natale chiara fusco mirella limatola luigi cante roberta alfieri noemi mollo rosa franzese saverio d'elia giovanni cimmino doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i12.1437 abstract introduction: the contribution of gut microbiota to health and disease is now well accepted and under continuous investigation. it is the most representative in the body (about 70% of the total) with over 400 different species of microorganisms living there. it is exclusive to each individual and therefore represents a real biological imprint, capable of distinguishing humans from one another. gut microbiota works synergically with the host, promoting health by performing protective, metabolic and structural functions. thus, when a modification of the personal normal gut microbiota composition occurs, a predisposition to develop different diseases may increase. probiotics are functional food that may modulate gut microbiota stimulating protective bacterial properties and inhibiting detrimental activity. we have previously reported a beneficial effect from the administration of an enriched nutraceutical composition containing probiotics in reducing irritable bowel syndrome-related symptoms and improving metabolic profile by lowering triglycerides. however, if these effects are attributed to gut microbiota remain unknown. objective: this analysis aims at evaluating microbiota modulation in subjects before and after triobiotix® administration using a metagenomic approach  methods: triobiotix® is an enriched nutraceutical composition containing maltodextrin, hyaluroic acid and mineralized seaweed extract lithothamnion calcareum plus a mix of five different lactic bacterial species. a total of 46 subjects with availability of sample test before and after treatment were included in the present analysis selected from 265 subjects. a fecal sample was collected before and up to 90 days after the administration of triobiotix®. feces were analyzed by wellmicro® gut test that uses the next-generation sequencing of the 16s rrna gene on illumina miseq. additionally, for 171 subjects a 90-day clinical evaluation was available. results: treatment with this enriched nutraceutical for up to 3 months resulted in a positive modulation of the main indices of improved gut microbiota, such as biodiversity and dysbiosis. improvement on metabolic functions, such as glycemic and lipid metabolisms, as well as on immunological and anti-inflammatory activities have been described, thus indicating that the observed clinical benefits associated with the administration of this nutraceutical formulation might be also attributed to a gut microbiota modulation. improvement in main ibs-related symptoms and bloating was maintained up to 90 days as well as microbiota diversity. conclusions: our analysis suggests that the gut microbiota of subjects taking triobiotix® rapidly returns to a high diversity with reduced dysbiosis after treatment with associated improvement of main physiological functions linked to brain, heart and liver.  keywords: gut microbiota; microbiome, metagenomic; nutraceuticals downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-12-03 issue vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effect of resistance training and lemon myrtle extract on muscle size of older adults: a pilot randomized controlled trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 / research articles effect of resistance training and lemon myrtle extract on muscle size of older adults: a pilot randomized controlled trial authors shuji sawada azusa nishino shinichi honda yuji tominaga shiori makio hayao ozaki shuichi machida doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i12.1472 abstract background: recent studies have shown that lemon myrtle leaf (lm) extracts activate muscle satellite cells. this research examined the impact of combining lm extract supplementation with resistance training on muscle hypertrophy in older adults. methods:  this randomized controlled trial allocated fourteen older adults (65-79 years) to either an lm supplement group (n=7) or a placebo group (n=7). participants engaged in low-load resistance training twice weekly for 12 weeks while receiving their designated supplements. muscle thickness at the anterior thigh (at) was assessed using b-mode ultrasound at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks to evaluate muscle hypertrophy. trial registration: umin000050432. results:.a 12-week intervention yielded significant muscle thickness enhancements in both groups. nonetheless, the lm group exhibited a substantially greater relative increase (p < 0.05) compared to the placebo group. furthermore, the low-load resistance training program elicited a significant 7.4% increase in muscle thickness in the lm group at six weeks, whereas the placebo group displayed a negligible 0.1% change. conclusions: the present study suggests that intake of lm extract could enhance the muscle hypertrophy effect of resistance training and requires further investigation in the future. keywords: sarcopenia, plant extract, muscle hypertrophy, lemon myrtle downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-12-11 issue vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the study of biologically active compounds and gross β-radioactivity of some vegetables and medicinal plants in conditions of outdoor hydroponic systems and soil culture in ararat valley | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 / research articles the study of biologically active compounds and gross β-radioactivity of some vegetables and medicinal plants in conditions of outdoor hydroponic systems and soil culture in ararat valley authors laura ghalachyan stepan mairapetyan anna tadevosyan lusya hovhannisyan anush vardanyan khachatur mairapetyan mahsa daryadar ruben siseryan anahit tovmasyan anjelika stepanyan armenuhi asatryan anahit hakobjanyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i8.1415 abstract background: it is known that various natural (40k, 234th, 231th, etc.) and technogenic (90sr, 89sr, 137cs, 134cs, etc.) radionuclides (rn) may enter into the biosphere during the operation of nuclear power plants (npp). moving along the transfer chains of irrigation water – soil plant and hydroponic nutrient solution – substrate plant, the rn may penetrate human organisms and potentially cause various dangerous diseases. thus, monitoring the gross β-radioactivity of plant materials (such as vegetables, medicinal plants, fruits, etc.) and ensuring the production of radioecologically safe plant raw materials is a contemporary challenge.since 1996, we have been conducting radiomonitoring studies in ararat valley in the water-soil-plant ecosystem of the zones within the 2-15, 20, and 30 km radius of armenian npp (anpp) technogenic influence. objective: to reveal the optimal conditions for radio-ecologically safe plant raw material, we compared the gross β-radioactivity of the edible parts of several valuable vegetables (rhubarb rheum undulatum l., chinese cabbage brassica rapa subsp. chinensis, kale brassica oleracea var. sabellica l., spicy pepper capsicum frutescens l., (varieties “bishops crown”, “cayenne”, “chili de arbol”, “little elf”, ”fresno”), cicer cicer arietinum l., (varieties “kapuli” introduced from the usa, “desi” introduced from canada and “leningradskaya 313” introduced from russia)) as well as the plant raw materials of medicinal plants (ashwagandha withania somnifera l., moroccan mint mentha spicatavar. crispa, marokko, japanese pagoda tree sophora japonica l., holy basil ocimum tenuiflorum l., and rosemary rosmarinus officinalis l.). these plants were introduced into armenia and grown under various outdoor hydroponic systems (organic, nft, water stream, drip, and classical hydroponics) and in soil.hydroponics) and soil. the studies were done at the institute of hydroponics problems (ihp) in ararat valley (a zone of anpp with a 30 km radius). it has concrete practical significance since it allows radio-ecologically safe plant raw material to be received. methods: the gross β-radioactivity of the plant samples was determined using a small background umf-1500 radiometer. results: the results of the radiochemical study have shown that in the same zone of radio voltage and climatic conditions of ararat valley, several varieties of crops cultivated in hydroponic and soil conditions have accumulated different amounts of β-emitting technogenic and natural rn. the gross β-radioactivity of vegetables fluctuated between 230 590 bq/kg in classic hydroponics and 140 480 bq/kg in soil, and the gross β-radioactivity of medicinal plants was between 320 680 bq/kg in hydroponics and 240 450 bq/kg in soil. in both hydroponic systems and soil, the gross β-radioactivity of the edible parts of vegetables and medicinal plants follows the same decreasing order: for vegetables, the order is rhubarb > chinese cabbage > kale > spicy pepper > chickpea; and for medicinal plants, the order is ashwagandha > moroccan mint > holy basil > japanese pagoda tree > rosemary. conclusion: regardless of the crop varieties and cultivation methods (organic, water stream, drop, classical hydroponics, and soil culture), the plant raw material is considered radio-ecologically safe because their gross βradioactivity doesn’t exceed the radio-ecological safety threshold stated by the world health organization – 1000 bq/kg. keywords: vegetables, medicinal herb, radionuclides, nutrient solution, radio-ecological safety downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-08-13 issue vol. 14 no. 8 (2024): august 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of the consumption of acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins on visceral fat: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 / research articles effects of the consumption of acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins on visceral fat: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study authors asami baba sosuke ogawa kengo yokosho naoko suzuki tsuyoshi takara doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i12.1420 abstract background: obesity is an important risk factor for diabetes, kidney, liver, and cardiovascular diseases, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. factors such as dietary choices, decreased physical activity due to urbanization and economic expansion, and increased nutritional consumption have made obesity a growing global issue. acacia bark extract contains proanthocyanidins, which are believed to inhibit accumulation of fat and promote the metabolism of body fat. objective: this study was designed to investigate the effects of acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins on fat accumulation among healthy japanese adults with a body mass index (bmi) of 25–30 kg/m2. methods: this study was performed as a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study. out of 199 participants who signed informed consent, 68 were randomized to two groups (n = 34/group) with a computer-generated allocation table. the participants took six tablets containing either acacia bark-derived proanthocyanidins (acacia group) or placebo (placebo group) daily for 12 weeks. their abdominal total, subcutaneous, and visceral fat areas via x-ray computed tomography, body weight, bmi, fat and muscle mass, and waist, abdominal, and hip circumferences were measured. results: after accounting for dropouts, the acacia and placebo groups had 32 and 33 participants, respectively. at the end of the 12-week intervention, the acacia group had significantly lower abdominal visceral fat area compared with the placebo group. conclusions: acacia proanthocyanidins were found to reduce visceral fat. keywords: acacia bark extract, proanthocyanidins, polyphenol, visceral fat, obesity downloads [abstract] [full article] [supplementary] published 2024-12-12 issue vol. 14 no. 12 (2024): december 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com cerebrovascular and antihyperlipidemic properties of sour cherry ( prunus cerasus ) fruit | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles cerebrovascular and antihyperlipidemic properties of sour cherry (prunus cerasus) fruit authors shamilyan knarik topchyan hakob zhamharyan arusyak poghosyan varduhi melkonyan artur avetyan melina balasanyan marine doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1790 abstract background: ischemic diseases are major global health burden, contributing significantly to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders, with ischemic stroke being a leading cause. the main risk factors for ischemia are vascular wall damage, atherosclerosis progression, lipid metabolism disturbances, and increased platelet aggregation. current medications targeting these mechanisms may lead to side effects, especially when they are used for prevention, driving interest in plant-derived compounds with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular benefits. sour cherry (prunus cerasus) has attracted attention for its high levels of polyphenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and organic acids, known for their blood pressure-regulating, anti-inflammatory, and sleep-modulating properties. these compounds protect the vascular system by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction. investigation of sour cherry cerebrovascular and anti-hyperlipidemic properties may contribute to integrating plant-based therapies into existing cardiovascular treatment strategies, offering new opportunities for disease prevention and management. objectives: the purpose of this observation was to investigate the antihyperlipidemic activity and discover the new cerebrovascular effects of sour cherry fruits. results: obtained data evidenced that cholesterol levels in blood samples after 7 days of fruit intake were decreased by 2.74±1.52% compared with baseline parameters (day 0). continued sour cherry fruit intake for 14 days led to further reduction in cholesterol levels by 8.1±3.30%, nearly three times exceeding the reduction level registered on day 7. assessment of sour cherry fruits on triglyceride levels showed a significant reduction on days 7 and 14 by 17.86 ± 5.57% and 21.01 ± 9.25%, respectively, compared to baseline. no notable changes were observed in high-density lipoprotein  (hdl) levels following sour cherry fruit intake. in contrast, low-density lipoprotein (ldl) levels decreased by 8.1 ± 4.24% after 14 days of consumption compared with control values.          registration of brain blood flow enabled the discovery of cerebrovascular activity in sour cherry fruits. it is noteworthy that its ability of sour cherry fruits to increase the cerebral blood flow (cbf) appears especially in case of cerebral blood flow impairment. thus, under the normal condition, cerebral blood flow after intraperitoneal injection of 2.5 g/kg freeze-dried sour cherry fruit solution was not changed significantly. after the ligation of right common carotid artery, when cbf was decreased by 31.07±3.96% (p<0.05) intraperitoneal administration of the freeze-dried sour cherry fruits solution (2.5 g/ kg) was accompanied by the elevation of cbf, being above from occlusion levels by 13.6±5.19% ( p<0.05) at 30 minutes, and by 33.8±6.06% -at 80 minutes, compared to occlusion values. notably, by the end of the experiment, cbf levels exceeded not only the occlusion level by 40.04±12.51%, as well as the baseline level.  conclusion: the findings of this study suggest that sour cherry fruits possess cerebrovascular and antihyperlipidemic activity, as based on their ability to improve impaired cerebral blood flow and reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels. these results highlight the potential of sour cherry as a natural and effective plant-based agent for reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors, including hypercholesterolemia.   keywords: common carotid artery occlusion, new cerebrovascular activity, lipid spectrum changes, freeze-dried sour cherry. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-06 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com approaches to studying the increase in the activity and stability of the recombinant aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 3 (2025): march 2025 / research articles approaches to studying the increase in the activity and stability of the recombinant aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 authors hasmik yepremyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i3.1557 abstract background: optically active amino acids, obtained using the aminoacylase enzyme, play a crucial role in the food, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. researchers have developed approaches to enhance the activity and stability of the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36. various stabilizing reagents—dithiothreitol (dtt), glutathione, mercaptoethanol, ascorbic acid, sodium cyanide and sodium sulfide—were studied, with freezing used as a control for comparison.  results showed that dtt at a concentration of 10-3м facilitated to preserve the activity of the studied enzyme up to 105%.  additionally, the combined use of dtt and co²⁺ ions tripled the enzyme's activity and improved its stability by 2.5 times. notably, that the simultaneous action of dtt and со+2 ions also facilitate enzyme activity regeneration. the most effective way to preserve the activity of the recombinant aminoacylase is to freeze the enzyme.  objective: the objective of the work is to develop approaches to studying the increase in the activity and stability of the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36. methods: recombinant strain-producer of aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 was used in this study. e. coli cells were grown in m9 minimal medium with supplements at 370c. aminoacylase activity was measured at 37°c in a reaction medium with a final volume of 0.2 ml, containing buffer a (100 mm na/k-phosphate buffer, ph 7.0), 0.2 mm cocl₂, 40 mm n-acetyl-d,l-methionine, and the required amount of enzyme. one unit of acylase activity was defined as the amount of the enzyme catalyzing the formation of 1 µmol of l-methionie in 1min at 370c at ph 7.0. results: the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36 was obtained using a previously developed method. the effect of various reagents on the stability and activity of the enzyme structure was studied. results showed that dtt stabilized the recombinant aminoacylase up to 105% compared to the control. the combined use of со2+ ions and dtt increases the enzyme activity threefold and increases the stability by 2.5 times. additionally, the simultaneous action of dtt and со+2 ions facilitated the regeneration of the enzyme activity. among the tested methods, freezing proved to be the most effective strategy for preserving the recombinant aminoacylase activity. novelty: this study uniquely demonstrates the synergistic effect of dithiothreitol (dtt) and cobalt ions (co+2) in significantly enhancing both the activity and stability of recombinant intracellular aminoacylase from escherichia coli lge 36. this novel approach, including the enzyme's activity regeneration, significantly advances optimizing this industrially important enzyme for producing optically active amino acids. conclusion: the obtained data on the properties of the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase make it possible to more fully characterize the biochemical and physiological features of the aminoacylase of escherichia coli 36, an industrially important enzyme. optically active amino acids obtained by biocatalysis using the recombinant intracellular aminoacylase of escherichia coli lge 36 can serve as a basis for creating new medicinal drugs and biologically active supplements used in the functional food industry. keywords: recombinant aminoacylase, escherichia coli, enzyme, ion metal, reagents, biologically active supplements, functional food industry. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-03-27 issue vol. 15 no. 3 (2025): march 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com an extract from asparagus improves sleep quality and reduces sleepiness and fatigue on awakening: a pilot randomized controlled trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 / research articles an extract from asparagus improves sleep quality and reduces sleepiness and fatigue on awakening: a pilot randomized controlled trial authors tsukasa takahashi jaehoon seol toshio kokubo kazunori goto jun takanari doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i4.1574 abstract background: good sleep is essential for a healthy, active life that supports disease prevention. sleep debts caused by sleep deprivation, irregular sleep, and insomnia increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, mood disorders, dementia, and cancer. today's lifestyles in developed countries are prone to sleep debts, which has led to social interventions that aim to reduce sleep-related health problems. etas®50 is a standardized extract of asparagus officinalis stem, and has been reported to improve sleep quality, maintain sleep rhythms, and relieve mental stress.  methods: this pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study was conducted in healthy adult males with sleep problems to evaluate the effects of etas®50 on sleep quality. participants took etas®50 (300 mg/day) or placebo, and underwent an electroencephalogram, measured during sleep with a device known as the insomnograf k2®.  they were given a subjective assessment of sleep through a questionnaire known as the oguri-shirakawa-azumi sleep inventory, specifically the middle-aged and aged version (osa-ma). trial registration: the university hospital medical information network clinical trial registry umin000052913. results: etas®50 showed a tendency to increase the ratio and total duration of stage n3, known as the deepest stage in non-rem sleep (nrem). in addition, the subjective evaluation of sleep showed significant improvements in scores corresponding to tiredness upon rising, initiation and maintenance of sleep, refreshment after waking, and total scores. the total duration and ratio of stage n3 are important indicators for assessing sleep quality. the favorable results suggested that dietary intake of etas®50 may improve sleep quality, enhancing subjective sleep assessment the next morning. conclusion: supplementation of etas®50 may offer a practical approach to improving sleep quality. keywords: sleep debts, electroencephalogram, etas®50, insomnograf k2® downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-04-09 issue vol. 15 no. 4 (2025): april 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com superiority of the body roundness index over bmi in linking central adiposity with vitamin d3: a cross-sectional study in iraqi adults | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 / research articles superiority of the body roundness index over bmi in linking central adiposity with vitamin d3: a cross-sectional study in iraqi adults authors sura talal kadhim duaa mohammed al-atta monaf faik ahmeed al samarraee doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i11.1798 abstract background: body mass index is a poor measure of central adiposity. the body roundness index may be a better measure, although data for middle eastern adults are limited.  objectives: to investigate the association of animal-fat consumption with adiposity indices as well as vitamin d3, and compare bri with bmi as a marker of body fat in iraqi adults.  methods: we used dietary questionnaires, anthropometry, and bioelectrical impedance to estimate visceral fat area and serum vitamin d3 in a cross-sectional study of 527 adults. correlation and regression analyses were performed.  results: there was no association between animal-fat intake and the adiposity indices or vitamin d3. in contrast with bmi, bri presented a quite strong inverse correlation with vitamin d3 (r = –0.497, p < 0.001). visceral fat area was not predicted by any of the indices.  novelty explicit: in this adult sample from iraq, bri is more helpful than bmi for detecting central adiposity, which is associated with vitamin d3 insufficiency; as a result, bri may be a better screening tool in a clinical and epidemiological context.  conclusion: bri was a better indicator of metabolic risk associated with adiposity than bmi. in both clinical and epidemiological settings, it might be a beneficial screening tool for central adiposity and vitamin d deficiency. keywords: body roundness index; vitamin d3; visceral fat; body mass index; adiposity. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-11-03 issue vol. 15 no. 11 (2025): november 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com gum acacia supplementation improves adiponectin levels and hba1c/adiponectin ratio in women with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 3 (2025): march 2025 / clinical trial gum acacia supplementation improves adiponectin levels and hba1c/adiponectin ratio in women with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial authors rasha babiker ibrahim abdelrhim ali tarig h. merghani amin si banaga nada tawfig hashim mohammed seed ahmed amal m. saeed doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i3.1568 abstract background: adiponectin contributes to the regulation of glucose homeostasis and lipid profiles and plays a role in maintaining average body weight. at high serum concentrations, adiponectin sensitizes cells to insulin and exerts favorable effects on type 2 diabetes patients. gum acacia (ga) has shown beneficial impacts on serum glucose and lipid profile in both humans and animals. this study aimed to test the effects of oral ga consumption on serum adiponectin levels, glycemic parameters, and the glycosylated hemoglobin/adiponectin ratio in diabetic women. methods: seventy-three diabetic women (type 2) with an hba1c ≥ 6.5% were participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. the intervention group (34 patients) received 30.0 g per day of ga, whereas the control group (39 patients) received 5.0 g of placebo per day. the intervention period was 12 weeks. participants were interviewed and examined clinically before, during and after the intervention. the parameters analyzed before and after the intervention were bmi, serum adiponectin, fasting blood glucose, hba1c, and the hba1c/adiponectin ratio.  results: before the intervention, the mean age was 49±1.1 years, bmi was 28.3±0.6 kg/m2, hba1c was 8.8±0.3%, adiponectin was 5.4±0.12 µg/ml, and the hba1c/adiponectin ratio was 1.8±0.06. all baseline parameters showed nonsignificant differences between the intervention and placebo groups. following ga administration, both bmi and hba1c were significantly reduced by 2.5% and 3.8%, respectively. the mean serum adiponectin level significantly increased by 7.4% from baseline in the ga group. the mean change in the hba1c/adiponectin ratio was 0.3 µg/ml following the intervention (p < 0.01). compared to that in the placebo group, the hba1c/adiponectin ratio significantly decreased by 16.6% from baseline in the ga group versus an insignificant increase of 25.2% in the placebo group.  conclusions: gum acacia consumption improved the glycemic profile and increased the serum adiponectin concentration in diabetic women at a dosage of 30.0 g/day for three months. this study uniquely explores the impact of gum acacia (ga) on serum adiponectin levels and the hba1c/adiponectin ratio in type 2 diabetic women. demonstrating a significant increase in adiponectin and a reduction in the hba1c/adiponectin ratio following ga supplementation, this study provides novel insights into ga's potential as a dietary intervention for improving glycemic control in diabetic populations.  keywords: gum acacia, adiponectin, dietary intervention, type 2 diabetes mellitus downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-03-19 issue vol. 15 no. 3 (2025): march 2025 section clinical trial license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com synergistic effect of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on clostridium butyricum in a synbiotic combination for enhanced butyrate production during in-vitro fermentation | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 / research articles synergistic effect of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on clostridium butyricum in a synbiotic combination for enhanced butyrate production during in-vitro fermentation authors yoshiki matsumiya mahendra p kapoor akiko yamaguchi aya abe norio sato doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v14i7.1385 abstract background: clostridium butyricum is a butyrate-producing beneficial bacterium and is generally recognized as a significant indicator of appropriate gut microbial metabolism in human health. objective: the synergistic effects of commercially available prebiotic partially hydrolyzed guar gum (phgg) dietary fiber as a carbon source on a butyrate-producing bacterial strain were evaluated during in-vitro fermentation with clostridium butyricum bacterial strain in a basal medium. additionally, their prebiotic activities were compared to those of other dietary fibers.  methods: the examined functional dietary fiber substrates (phgg, lmw-phgg, indigestible dextrin, and inulin) demonstrated selective prebiotic effects on ph variation of a basal medium, leading to enhanced bacterial growth and butyrate production with clostridium butyricum bacterial strains during in-vitro fermentation.  results: prebiotic phgg supplementation had the highest fermentability among dietary fibers, resulting in greater bacterial growth (od660: 1.93 ± 0.01) of the clostridium butyricum strain and enhanced butyrate generation (4.52 ± 2.09 mm) after cultivation in a basal medium. a significant difference in promoting bacterial growth (p < 0.05), ph reduction (p < 0.05), and butyrate production (p < 0.05) compared to indigestible dextrin and inulin was observed. mannose demonstrated the strongest butyrogenic effect and improved fermentability on the clostridium butyricum, among the studied prebiotic monosaccharides (galactose, glucose, and starch). the order of bacterial growth and butyrate synthesis was mannose > galactose > glucose > starch. the phgg with a relatively lower molecular weight (lmw-phgg) exhibited the improved bacterial growth of clostridium butyricum and demonstrated the highest butyrate production after cultivation in a basal medium. a similar trend was observed when clostridium butyricum was cultivated in-vitro using phgg-supplemented artificial intestinal fluid containing mrs-agar medium.  conclusion: these findings suggest that the symbiotic combination of prebiotic phgg and probiotic clostridium butyricum could have major industrial applications as a therapeutic adjuvant for improved gastrointestinal health. keywords: partially hydrolyzed guar gum, synbiotic, prebiotic, probiotic, clostridium butyricum, butyrate production downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2024-07-08 issue vol. 14 no. 7 (2024): july 2024 section research articles license copyright (c) 2024 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com effects of heat killed lactiplantibacillus plantarum n1487-7 intake in humans with impaired liver function: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 / research articles effects of heat killed lactiplantibacillus plantarum n1487-7 intake in humans with impaired liver function: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study authors eriko uehara hideki hokazono naoki miura doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i1.1529 abstract background: the liver is an organ that performs important functions such as nutrient synthesis and detoxification, and liver health is greatly affected by lifestyle habits. inappropriate lifestyle habits such as overeating, excessive alcohol intake, and lack of exercise cause inflammation in the liver. serum levels of liver function markers such as aspartate aminotransferase and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c) increase as liver function declines. recently, it has been suggested that heat-sterilized lactiplantibacillus plantarum n1487-7 (n1487-7-hk) have an anti-inflammatory effect, and this effect may be useful in supporting liver function. objective: to investigate the effect of oral intake of n1487-7-hk on liver function in healthy subjects with elevated serum levels of liver function markers. methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparative study was conducted. one hundred subjects (20–64 years old) were randomly assigned to receive n1487-7-hk (6 × 1010 cells/capsule/day) or a placebo, ingested once daily for 12 weeks. efficacy endpoints included the serum levels of four liver function markers and of interleukin (il)-10; safety endpoints included serum levels of ldl-c and total cholesterol (tc). results: there were no significant differences in serum levels of liver function markers or of il-10 between the two groups. in safety evaluations, the ldl-c level change (p = 0.049 at week 12) and the tc level changes (p = 0.047 at week 6, p = 0.012 at week 12) show a significantly greater reduction (improvement) in the n1487-7-hk group than in the placebo group. notably, in a subgroup analysis of subjects with baseline serum tc levels below the median (228.5 mg/dl), serum il-10 levels at study completion were significantly higher in the n1487-7-hk intake group than in the placebo group (p = 0.003 at week 12). conclusions: these results suggested that n1487-7-hk ingestion has an anti-inflammatory effect and improves ldl-c and tc metabolism in subjects with impaired liver function. therefore, n1487-7-hk supplementation may be effective in preventing or improving arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and cholelithiasis. trial registration number: umin000051940. keywords: lactiplantibacillus plantarum, liver function, interleukin-10, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-01-03 issue vol. 15 no. 1 (2025): january 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com the effect of different growth conditions on the content of bioactive compounds and gross β-radioactivity of some wild edible plants in the republic of armenia | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / research articles the effect of different growth conditions on the content of bioactive compounds and gross β-radioactivity of some wild edible plants in the republic of armenia authors laura ghalachyan mahsa daryadar artur matevosyan hamid reza roosta mansour ghorbanpour aristakes ghahramanyan anjelika stepanyan anna tadevosyan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1748 abstract background: nowadays, people prefer using edible plants over synthetic drugs for the prevention and treatment of diseases. these plants are rich in bioactive compounds (bc), such as vitamins, carotenoids, proteins, carbohydrates, organic acids, flavonoids, tannins, and more. humans have used them for thousands of years as both food and medicine. through the rational use of edible plants, people aim to enhance the body’s immunity and prevent diseases. in this context, the need to obtain edible plants that are both rich in bc and radioecologically safe has become an urgent concern. objective: to identify the optimal conditions for obtaining bc-rich radioecologically safe plant products, we studied the comparative characteristics of bc (protein, tannins, flavonoids) content and their gross β-radioactivity in several wild edible plants-wep (sickleweed falcaria vulgaris bernh., eryngium eryngium caucasicum trautv., and rhubarb rheum rhabarbarum l.) under outdoor hydroponics and soil cultivation conditions. the research was conducted at the institute of hydroponics problems (ihp) in the ararat valley; an area located within a 30 km radius of the armenian nuclear power plant (annp). methods: total protein content was assessed using the kjeldahl method, and tannin content was determined using a titrimetric method, while the total flavonoid content was quantified using a spectrophotometric method. gross β-radioactivity of samples was defined with radiochemical methods through the radiometer umf-1500 with low background.  results: the cultivation method (hydroponics, soil) did not significantly affect the content of total flavonoids and tannins in sickleweed leaves. in hydroponics, the protein content in sickleweed increased by 1.3 times, while the flavonoid content in eryngium leaves and the tannin content were 1.2 times higher than those in soil-grown plants. the concentration of the nutrient solution (0.75n, 1.0n, 1.25n) significantly affected the flavonoid and tannin content in the petioles of rhubarb. the minimum flavonoid and tannin content in rhubarb petioles was recorded at 0.75n (0.2% and 2.1%, respectively), while the maximum content was observed at 1.25n (0.4% and 2.8%, respectively). food plants, in order of gross β-radioactivity levels in hydroponics and soil, form the following descending order: sickleweed > eryngium > rhubarb. the gross β-radioactivity of plants varied between 780-910 bq/kg in hydroponic systems, compared to 650-760 bq/kg in soil.  novelty: this study is the first to integrate biochemical profiling of bc with radiological safety assessment in wep (sickleweed, eryngium, and rhubarb) cultivated under hydroponic and soil conditions. it demonstrates that hydroponics not only enhances protein, flavonoid, and tannin yields but also ensures radio-ecological safety, confirming wep as promising functional food ingredients and medicinal resources. conclusion: in the raw materials of wep, the content of certain bc in hydroponics exceeded that in soil. the raw materials of plants grown under different conditions are considered radio-ecologically safe because their gross β-radioactivity does not exceed the radio-ecological safety threshold set by the world health organization (< 1000 bq/kg). regardless of cultivation conditions, edible plants can be used as a functional food. keywords: falcaria vulgaris bernh., eryngium caucasicum trautv., rheum rhabarbarum l., protein, tannin, total flavonoids, radio-ecological safety. downloads [abstract] [full_article] published 2025-09-05 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com isolation and identification of the active compounds found in aromatic oils extracted from mentha longifolia and their use in the extension shelf life of frozen beef patties | functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 skip to main content skip to main navigation menu skip to site footer open menu functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 home food science publisher functional food center current archives about about the journal aims and scope contact editing services editorial team express peer review graphical abstract journal insights privacy statement submissions announcements search search register login home / archives / vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 / research articles isolation and identification of the active compounds found in aromatic oils extracted from mentha longifolia and their use in the extension shelf life of frozen beef patties authors sari ali hussien suhair ali hussein firas najm ismael bilal a khashan doi: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v15i9.1731 abstract background: wild mint is a perennial herb from the mint family, native to europe. it is considered beneficial to the human body, as it has long been used to treat many diseases and problems that affect humans. for thousands of years, medicinal herbs and plants have been used to treat various types of diseases and to improve health care for individuals. objective: the study aimed to demonstrate the effect of using mentha longifolia, as it is a substance rich in essential fatty acids, tocopherols, and flavonoids, as effective natural antioxidants and antimicrobials, and its inclusion in food manufacturing, such as the manufacture of meat products such as burgers. materials and methods: our main goal was to use mentha longifolia, extracted from the stachys plant using a clevenger apparatus, and a standardized burger mix was prepared from it. the mixture was divided into four treatments, with mentha longifolia (t2, t3, and t4) added at 1, 2, and 3% oil, respectively, in addition to the control treatment, t1, without any addition. microbial tests were conducted on burger patty samples for all treatments before freezing. the treatments were stored at -18°c for 60 days, and tests were performed twice a month. results: the results of estimating fatty acids using gc-ms technology confirmed that mentha longifolia contained reasonable amounts of some essential fatty acids. examining flavonoid content using hplc showed that mentha longifolia contains 38 compounds, the most important of which are caffeic acid, 4-hydroxy, quercetin, and apigenin. the logarithm of the total numbers of aerobic bacteria, refrigeration bacteria, and staphylococci reached 5.56-5.69, 1.47-1.60, and 4.39-4.44 / g, freezing for 60 days led to a decrease in these values, and the severity of the decline was directly proportional to the percentage of adding mentha longifolia. treatments t3 and t4 recorded the lowest values compared to the control treatment. statistical analysis revealed that the results were not significant at p ≤ 0.05. keywords: burgers, wild mint, mentha longifolia, antimicrobials from plant sources, storing meat in the freezer, antioxidant. downloads [abstract] [full article] published 2025-09-18 issue vol. 15 no. 9 (2025): september 2025 section research articles license copyright (c) 2025 functional foods in health and disease online issn: 2160-3855; print issn: 2378-7007 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial 4.0 international license. authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the functional food center (ffc) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. this license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. by submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. the functional food center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. about the journal      editing services      graphical abstract      journal insights        submissions        editorial team       privacy statement        contact        current        archives   open journal systems hosting and support by: openjournalsystems.com 