Food & Function Blog

Omega-3 (w-3) fatty acids, found in foods such as oily fish, have previously been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, studies on animals and humans have given conflicting results when it comes to the effects of w-3 on obesity. As obesity is associated with other conditions such as high cholesterol, inflammation and cardiovascular disease, reducing the body mass index (BMI) of obese patients (>30 kg m^¬2) to the normal range (20-25 kg m^¬2) is therefore important for good health.

In this research paper, Manohar Garg and Irene Munro from University of Newcastle, Australia, have investigated whether supplementation with LCw-3PUFA (omega-3 fatty acid) alone, then consumed in conjunction with a very low energy diet, facilitates weight loss. The team found that in their double blind randomised controlled trial, women are more responsive to the metabolism of LCw-3PUFA, which is possibly due to the hormone oestrogen and therefore they benefit from enhanced thermogenesis. However, due to the small number of male participants in this study, further research over a longer time period would be required to investigate gender differences and the potential link between LCw-3PUFA and BMI.

Read the full article for free until the 26th March 2013!

Prior supplementation with long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids promotes weight loss in obese adults: a double-blinded randomised controlled trial, Irene A. Munro and Manohar L. Garg, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/c3fo60038f

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As well as adding great flavours to the foods we eat and enhancing the sensory qualities of our meals, spices also provide us with many health benefits.  These include radioprotective effects as well as helping us to fight against, and prevent, diseases such as alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity, cancers and diseases of the bowel.

Read about some of the latest research in this area from selection of articles published in Food & Function below – all free to access until the 19th March 2013!

Dietary spices as beneficial modulators of lipid profile in conditions of metabolic disorders and diseases, Krishnapura Srinivasan, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO30249G

Curcumin, an active component of turmeric in the prevention and treatment of ulcerative colitis: preclinical and clinical observations, Manjeshwar Shrinath Baliga, Nandhini Joseph, Marikunte V. Venkataranganna, Arpit Saxena, Venkatesh Ponemone and Raja Fayad, Food Funct., 2012, 3, 1109-1117

Radioprotective effects of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Ginger): past, present and future, Manjeshwar Shrinath Baliga, Raghavendra Haniadka, Manisha Maria Pereira, Karadka Ramdas Thilakchand, Suresh Rao and Rajesh Arora, Food Funct., 2012, 3, 714-723

Dietary agents in the prevention of alcohol-induced hepatotoxicty: preclinical observations, Arnadi Ramachandrayya Shivashankara, Aysha Azmidah, Raghavendra Haniadka, Manoj Ponadka Rai, Rajesh Arora and Manjeshwar Shrinath Baliga, Food Funct., 2012, 3, 101-109

Inhibitory effects of 1,3-bis-(2-substituted-phenyl)-propane-1,3-dione, β-diketone structural analogues of curcumin, on chemical-induced tumor promotion and inflammation in mouse skin, Chuan-Chuan Lin, Yue Liu, Chi-Tang Ho and Mou-Tuan Huang, Food Funct., 2011, 2, 78-83

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The texture and melting behaviour of chocolate are key factors for determining chocolate quality. Textural characteristics such as bite, firmness, melting properties, stickiness and smoothness are important, however, perhaps the most important factor is melting behaviour. It must be solid at room temperature (about 20 ºC) and melt at body temperature (37 ºC). When consumed it melts in the mouth, mixes with saliva and the phase inverts from a fat continuous product into an oil-in-water emulsion upon chewing. It is at this point that levels of mouth-coating can be perceived.

In this work, Bettina Wolf and co-workers from Nottingham, UK, have studied the microstructure of two chocolate samples following oral processing in order to understand the textural behaviour. Two milk chocolate samples with the same composition and viscosity in the melted state were manufactured differently to give differences in textural properties. The microstructureof the chocolate samples following oral processing resembled an emulsion as the chocolate phase inverts in-mouth and was clearly different and between the two samples. The sample that was found to be more mouth-coating appeared less flocculated after 20 chews. The team also performed tribological studies to measure friction properties. The research showed correlations between the sensory behaviour and the physical material properties relating to melting and friction behaviour.

To read the full article (free until the 13th February 2013) click the link below:

Oral processing of two milk chocolate samples, Ana Margarida Carvalho-da-Silva, Isabella Van Damme, Will Taylor, Joanne Hort and Bettina Wolf, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/c2fo30173c

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Recently there has been considerable debate on what is the most appropriate and accurate method to predict the available energy to humans from food, particularly relating to factorial models vs.empirical models.  An alternative approach would be to calculate the physiologically available energy of food at the cellular level (ATP, or adenosine-5′-triphosphate), based on stoichiometric relationships and predictive uptakes of nutrients from the digestive tract. 

In this work, Leah Coles and colleagues from the Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute (Australia) and the Riddet Institute, Massey University (New Zealand) have developed just such a model. The model takes ‘energetic costs’ into account when considering the ATP yield, such as the energetic cost of digesting, absorbing and transporting nutrients in the body. The model is potentially a valuable tool for the development of certain food products which need to provide accurate quantities of energy intake, such as specialised weight-loss products. 

Read the full article for free until the 7th Feburary 2013!

A model to predict the ATP equivalents of macronutrients absorbed from food, Leah Coles,  Shane Rutherfurd and Paul Moughan, Food Funct., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO30239J

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