Food & Function Blog

Issue 5 of Food & Function is now available to read online!

The front cover this month features work by Young Hee Choi, Sang-Yong Nam and co-workers from Seoul, Republic of Korea. In their work, Eastern Prickly Pear cactus stem was extracted with different solvents and screened for radical scavenging activity. The results suggest that bioactive compounds present in the cactus stem extract may help prevent cancer through the modulation of apoptosis markers and inhibition of inflammatory pathways.

This article is free to access for the next six weeks.  To read it in full, click the link below:

Chemopreventive effect of cactus (Opuntia humifusa) extracts: radical scavenging activity, pro-apoptosis, and anti-inflammatory effect in human colon (SW480) and breast cancer (MCF7) cells, Jinhee Kim, Kwang Hyun Jho, Young Hee Choi and Sang-Yong Nam, Food Funct., 2013, 4, 681–688

Food & Function issue 4 is now online and you can read it here.

The front cover highlights a study which demonstrates that the addition to bread of guar gum and whole grain corn flour with an elevated amylose content  improves the course of glycaemia. 

The Paper, from Linda Ekström and colleagues from Lund University in Sweeden, aims to investigate the possibility of modulating glycaemia, insulinaemia and perceived satiety of white bread as frequent hyperglycaemia is associated with oxidative stress and subclinical inflammation, thereby increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

This article is free to read for 6 weeks!

On the possibility to affect the course of glycaemia, insulinaemia, and perceived hunger/satiety to bread meals in healthy volunteers, Linda M. N. K. Ekström, Inger M. E. Björck and Elin M. Östman, Food Funct., 2013, 4, 522-529

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Do you want to know what your colleagues were reading during 2012? The following articles in Food & Function were the most accessed over the course of the year:

Nuts, especially walnuts, have both antioxidant quantity and efficacy and exhibit significant potential health benefits
Joe A. Vinson and Yuxing Cai
Food Funct., 2012, 3, 134-140
DOI: 10.1039/C2FO10152A, Paper

Anti-inflammatory activity of natural dietary flavonoids
Min-Hsiung Pan, Ching-Shu Lai and Chi-Tang Ho
Food Funct., 2010, 1, 15-31
DOI: 10.1039/C0FO00103A, Review Article

Transcription profiles of LPS-stimulated THP-1 monocytes and macrophages: a tool to study inflammation modulating effects of food-derived compounds
Wasaporn Chanput, Jurriaan Mes, Robert A. M. Vreeburg, Huub F. J. Savelkoul and Harry J. Wichers
Food Funct., 2010, 1, 254-261
DOI: 10.1039/C0FO00113A, Paper

Effects of tea and coffee on cardiovascular disease risk
Siv K Bøhn, Natalie C Ward, Jonathan M Hodgson and Kevin D Croft
Food Funct., 2012, 3, 575-591
DOI: 10.1039/C2FO10288A, Review Article

Espresso coffees, caffeine and chlorogenic acid intake: potential health implications
Thomas W. M. Crozier, Angelique Stalmach, Michael E. J. Lean and Alan Crozier
Food Funct., 2012, 3, 30-33
DOI: 10.1039/C1FO10240K, Paper

Review of in vitro digestion models for rapid screening of emulsion-based systems
David Julian McClements and Yan Li
Food Funct., 2010, 1, 32-59
DOI: 10.1039/C0FO00111B, Review Article

Whole grain cereals: functional components and health benefits
Rafael Borneo and Alberto Edel León
Food Funct., 2012, 3, 110-119
DOI: 10.1039/C1FO10165J, Review Article

Development of oral food-grade delivery systems: Current knowledge and future challenges
Revital Cohen Benshitrit, Carmit Shani Levi, Sharon Levi Tal, Eyal Shimoni and Uri Lesmes
Food Funct., 2012, 3, 10-21
DOI: 10.1039/C1FO10068H, Review Article

The metabolism and analysis of isoflavones and other dietary polyphenols in foods and biological systems
Stephen Barnes, Jeevan Prasain, Tracy D’Alessandro, Ali Arabshahi, Nigel Botting, Mary Ann Lila, George Jackson, Elsa M. Janle and Connie M. Weaver
Food Funct., 2011, 2, 235-244
DOI: 10.1039/C1FO10025D, Review Article

Insights into the metabolism and microbial biotransformation of dietary flavan-3-ols and the bioactivity of their metabolites
Maria Monagas, Mireia Urpi-Sarda, Fernando Sánchez-Patán, Rafael Llorach, Ignacio Garrido, Carmen Gómez-Cordovés, Cristina Andres-Lacueva and Begoña Bartolomé
Food Funct., 2010, 1, 233-253
DOI: 10.1039/C0FO00132E, Review Article

Take a look at the articles and then post your thoughts and comments below.

Interested in submitting your own work to Food & Function? Submit online today, or email us with your suggestions.

Join Chemistry World and Advion for a webcast on the latest developments in HPTLC technology.

WHAT: Professor Morlock from the University of Giessen, Germany, will give an overview of current HPTLC methodology, explore some examples of HPTLC-MS coupling and review other current hyphenations in HPTLC. By the end of this free webinar, you will be able to:
– Recognise the power of modern HPTLC
– Learn about current hyphenations in HPTLC
– Understand the principle of elution-based HPTLC-MS
– Recognise how HPTLC hyphenations efficiently support analyses

WHEN: Wednesday, 20 March 2013 – 15:00 GMT

HOW: Click here to register (free)

The latest issue of Food & Function is now available to read online.

In this month’s issue, the front cover highlights research by Zhaoping Li and colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA who report the beneficial health effects of adding Hass avocado to hamburgers.  The team found that ingesting the avocado with the hamburger patty led to beneficial anti-inflammatory and vascular health effects.  Participants in the study who ate 250 g of beef (without avocado) experienced a significant decrease in vascular reactivity, increase of serum IL-6 and NFκB activation in PBMCs – symptoms which could be reduced by adding avocado to meat sandwiches.

Read the full article for free for 6 weeks:

Hass avocado modulates postprandial vascular reactivity and postprandial inflammatory responses to a hamburger meal in healthy volunteers, Zhaoping Li, Angela Wong, Susanne M. Henning, Yanjun Zhang, Alexis Jones, Alona Zerlin, Gail Thames, Susan Bowerman, Chi-Hong Tseng and David Heber, Food Funct., 2013, 4, 384-391

Issue 2 of Food & Function is now online and the cover highlights a paper by Maria Luz Fernandez and co-workers from the University of Connecticut, USA. 

Egg intake improves carotenoid status by increasing plasma HDL cholesterol in adults with metabolic syndrome
Christopher N. Blesso, Catherine J. Andersen, Bradley W. Bolling and Maria Luz Fernandez 

In their study daily intake of 3 whole eggs for 12 weeks, as part of a carbohydrate restricted dietary intervention for weight loss, increased both plasma and lipoprotein lutein and zeaxanthin, two sister carotenoids found in egg yolk. They demonstrate that egg yolk may represent an important food source to improve plasma carotenoid status in a population at high risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Read the article online, free for 6 weeks!

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Welcome to the first issue of Food & Function for 2013!  Read the Editorial by Professor Gary Williamson and Sarah Ruthven here.

The front cover of this issue features work by Alan Crozier and colleagues from the University of Glasgow, UK, and Welch Foods Inc., USA. The team investigated the aromatic compounds that result from colonic catabolism of Concord grape juice using an in vitro model of colonic fermentation. After consuming the grape juice substantial quantities of (poly)phenolic compounds reach the large intestine, where they are degraded to bioactive phenolic acids and aromatic compounds, which pass through the circulatory system before being excreted in the urine. The in vivo fate of these catabolites following absorption in the colon was also investigated by GC-MS. It was found that 40% of ingested (poly)phenolic compounds in Concord grape juice pass from the small to the large intestine and contributes to the increased bioavailabilty of the Concord grape polyphenolics.

Read the full article for free!

Colonic catabolism of dietary phenolic and polyphenolic compounds from Concord grape juice, Angelique Stalmach, Christine A. Edwards, Jo Lynne D. Wightman and Alan Crozier, Food Funct., 2012, 4, 52-62

You can keep up to date with the latest developments from Food & Function by signing up for free table of contents alerts and monthly e-newsletters.