(MO) is a multipurpose plant consumed as food and known for its medicinal uses, among others. Leaves, seeds and pods are the main parts used as food or food supplements. Nutritionally rich and with a ...high polyphenol content in the form of phenolic acids, flavonoids and glucosinolates, MO has been shown to exert numerous in vitro activities and in vivo effects, including hypoglycemic activity. A systematic search was carried out in the PubMed database and reference lists on the effects of MO on glucose metabolism. Thirty-three animal studies and eight human studies were included. Water and organic solvent extracts of leaves and, secondly, seeds, have been extensively assayed in animal models, showing the hypoglycemic effect, both under acute conditions and in long-term administrations and also prevention of other metabolic changes and complications associated to the hyperglycemic status. In humans, clinical trials are scarce, with variable designs and testing mainly dry leaf powder alone or mixed with other foods or MO aqueous preparations. Although the reported results are encouraging, especially those from postprandial studies, more human studies are certainly needed with more stringent inclusion criteria and a sufficient number of diabetic or prediabetic subjects. Moreover, trying to quantify the bioactive substances administered with the experimental material tested would facilitate comparison between studies.
Objective To test whether youths who engage in vigorous physical activity are more likely to have lean bodies while ingesting relatively large amounts of energy. For this purpose, we studied the ...associations of both physical activity and adiposity with energy intake in adolescents. Study design The study subjects were adolescents who participated in 1 of 2 cross-sectional studies, the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study (n = 1450; mean age, 14.6 years) or the European Youth Heart Study (EYHS; n = 321; mean age, 15.6 years). Physical activity was measured by accelerometry, and energy intake was measured by 24-hour recall. In the HELENA study, body composition was assessed by 2 or more of the following methods: skinfold thickness, bioelectrical impedance analysis, plus dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or air-displacement plethysmography in a subsample. In the EYHS, body composition was assessed by skinfold thickness. Results Fat mass was inversely associated with energy intake in both studies and using 4 different measurement methods ( P ≤ .006). Overall, fat-free mass was positively associated with energy intake in both studies, yet the results were not consistent across measurement methods in the HELENA study. Vigorous physical activity in the HELENA study ( P < .05) and moderate physical activity in the EYHS ( P < .01) were positively associated with energy intake. Overall, results remained unchanged after adjustment for potential confounding factors, after mutual adjustment among the main exposures (physical activity and fat mass), and after the elimination of obese subjects, who might tend to underreport energy intake, from the analyses. Conclusion Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that more physically active and leaner adolescents have higher energy intake than less active adolescents with larger amounts of fat mass.
Purpose
To examine the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and academic performance in children and adolescents.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 1371 youth ...aged 12.04 ± 2.50 years (685 girls) in Spain during 2011–2012. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed using the KIDMED index (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index in children and adolescents), which includes 16 questions on specific dietary patterns. Levels of adherence were classified into three groups: poor adherence (0–3), average adherence (4–7), and good adherence (8–12). Academic performance was assessed through school records using four indicators: math, language, an average of math and language, and grade point average score.
Results
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was related to academic performance (
β
ranging from 0.107 to 0.148; all
P
< 0.001) after adjusting for confounders. The group of good adherence to the Mediterranean diet had significantly higher scores in all of the academic indicators compared with the poor group (ranging from +0.429 to 0.464; all
P
≤ 0.001); as well as the group of average adherence to the Mediterranean diet had significantly higher scores in all of the academic indicators compared with the poor group (ranging from +0.292 to 0.344; all
P
≤ 0.06). There were no differences between the groups of good and average adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
Conclusions
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet may have a beneficial influence on academic performance in youth. Importantly, the benefits of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on academic performance may be stronger as youth adhered to the optimal Mediterranean diet levels.
The Role of Probiotics on the Microbiota Nova, Esther; Pérez de Heredia, Fátima; Gómez-Martínez, Sonia ...
Nutrition in Clinical Practice,
06/2016, Volume:
31, Issue:
3
Book Review, Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The microbiota and the human host maintain a symbiotic association. Nowadays, metagenomic analyses are providing valuable knowledge on the diversity and functionality of the gut microbiota. However, ...with regard to the definition of a “healthy microbiota” and the characterization of the dysbiosis linked to obesity, there is still not a clear answer. Despite this fact, attempts have been made to counteract obesity through probiotic supplementation. A literature search of experimental studies relevant to the topic was performed in PubMed database with the keywords “probiotic” and “obesity” and restricted to those with “Lactobacillus” or “Bifidobacterium” in the title. So far, evidence of an antiobesity effect of different lactobacilli and bifidobacteria has been mainly obtained from animal models of dietary-induced obesity. Using these experimental models, a substantial number of studies have reported reductions in weight gain and, in particular, fat tissue mass at different locations following administration of bacteria, as compared with controls. Antiatherogenic and anti-inflammatory effects—including regulation of expression of lipogenic and lipolytic genes in the liver, reduction in liver steatosis, improvement of blood lipid profile and glucose tolerance, decreased endotoxemia, and regulation of inflammatory pathways—are also reported in many of them. The number of human studies focused on probiotic administration for obesity management is still very scarce, and it is too soon to judge their potential efficacy, especially when considering the fact that the actions of probiotics are always strain specific and the individual response varies according to intrinsic factors, the overall composition of diet, and their interactions.
Although the effects of probiotics on the immune system have been extensively evaluated under disease states, their role in healthy situations remains unclear, since changes are hardly expected under ...immunological homeostasis. EFSA indicates that vaccination protocols could be used to evaluate the potential role of probiotics to improve the immune response against antigen challenges. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of
CECT5711 (Lc) on the specific immunity of healthy volunteers undergoing vaccination with Hepatitis A virus (HAV).
One hundred twenty-three healthy adults were randomised into three groups to follow a 6-week (wk) intervention and all received an intramuscular HAV vaccine 2 weeks after starting the intervention: 1) PRO1 received Lc for 2weeks (1 capsule/day; 3 × 10
CFU/capsule) and placebo capsules after vaccination; 2) PRO2 received a daily capsule of Lc (3 × 10
cfu/day) before and after the challenge; 3) Control group (C) received a daily placebo capsule before and after the vaccine. Blood samples were collected at the beginning (visit 1; V1) and after 2 (V2) and 6 weeks (V3) of the intervention. At each visit, lymphocyte subset counts and cytokine levels were analysed. Specific HAV antibodies were analysed at V1 and V3. To evaluate differences between groups, one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc test were used regarding lymphocyte subset counts and specific HAV antibodies production, and Friedman test of related samples and Kendall concordance coefficient for cytokines production. Chi square test was used to analyse seroconversion rates.
Specific HAV antibodies were significantly higher in PRO1 (50.54 ± 29.57) compared to C (36.23 ± 16.45) (
= 0.017) and showed an intermediate value in PRO2 (41.61 ± 15.74). Seroconversion rates were similar in the three groups (97.3, 92.3 and 97.4% in C, PRO1 and PRO2 respectively). Memory T-helper lymphocytes increased in V3 vs. V1 (
= 0.032) in PRO2. No differences were found in cytokine concentrations.
Mixed results have been found regarding the usefulness of Lc supplementation to increase the antigen-specific antibody response to an immune challenge. Clinical trial registration number: EudraCT Number 2016-000183-42. Registered 19 January 2016. Retrospectively registered.
•Already known: Tryptophan breakdown is a pathway to higher morbidity.•Already during adolescence, inflammation can lead to higher tryptophan breakdown.•Stress as such was not associated with ...tryptophan metabolism.•Interaction between stress and inflammation in tryptophan breakdown.•Findings might enable risk group identification.
Tryptophan breakdown is an important mechanism in several diseases e.g. inflammation and stress-induced inflammation have been associated with the development of depression via enhanced tryptophan breakdown. Depression is a major public health problem which commonly starts during adolescence, thus identifying underlying mechanisms during early life is crucial in prevention. The aim of this work was to verify whether independent and interacting associations of psychosocial stress and inflammation on tryptophan breakdown already exist in children and adolescents as a vulnerable age group.
Two cross-sectional population-based samples of children/adolescents (8–18 y) were available: 315 from the European HELENA study and 164 from the Belgian ChiBS study. In fasting serum samples, tryptophan, kynurenine, kynurenic acid, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-ɣ, soluble vascular adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM1) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM1) were measured. Psychological stress was measured by stress reports (subjective) and cortisol (objective – awakening salivary cortisol or hair cortisol). Linear regressions with stress or inflammation as predictor were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, puberty, socio-economic status and country.
In both cohorts, inflammation as measured by higher levels of CRP, sVCAM1 and sICAM1 was associated with kynurenine/tryptophan ratio and thus enhanced tryptophan breakdown (beta: 0.145–0.429). Psychological stress was only associated with tryptophan breakdown in the presence of higher inflammatory levels (TNF-α in both populations).
Inflammatory levels were replicable key in enhancing tryptophan breakdown along the kynurenine pathway, even at young age and in a non-clinical sample. The stress-inflammation interaction indicated that only the stress exposures inducing higher inflammatory levels (or in an already existing inflammatory status) were associated with more tryptophan breakdown. This data further contributes to our understanding of pathways to disease development, and may help identifying those more likely to develop stress or inflammation-related illnesses.
Obesity and its related diseases have been associated with oxidative stress. Thus, the search for nutritional strategies to ameliorate oxidative stress in obese individuals seems important. We ...hypothesized that the supplementation with monounsaturated (2-hydroxyoleic acid (2-OHOA)) and with combined n-3 polyunsaturated (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) fatty acids would ameliorate oxidative stress in different organs, including brain, liver, lungs, and kidneys of adult diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. Adult female ICR-CD1 mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 14 weeks. During the last 6 weeks of HFD feeding, one group of DIO mice received the same HFD, supplemented with 1500 mg of 2-OHOA per kg of HFD and another group with 1500 mg of EPA and 1500 mg of DHA per kg of HFD. At the end of the experiment, several parameters of oxidative stress were assessed. The supplementation with 2-OHOA or with EPA and DHA in DIO mice was able to revert oxidative stress, enhancing the activities of catalase and glutathione reductase, as well as diminishing the activity of xanthine oxidase, the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and the ratio between oxidized glutathione and reduced glutathione in several organs. These reached similar values to those of control mice, which were fed a standard diet. These data suggest that supplementation with 2-OHOA and with EPA and DHA could be an effective nutritional intervention to restore an appropriate redox state in DIO mice.
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