Food & Function Blog

Chronic vascular inflammation, induced by pathogenic bacterial or viral infection, or non-pathogenic factors such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (or “bad” cholesterol) plays an important part in the development of atherosclerosis and related conditions. In the process of vascular inflammation the vascular endothelial cells form a monolayer covering the inner surface of the blood vessels, which plays an important role in regulation. Curcuminoids have been extensively investigated for their antiinflammatory activity, however, the involvement of microRNAs in this activity is not well understood.

In this article by Susanne Mertens-Talcott and co-workers in the US, the antiinflammatory effects of curcuminoids has been investigated. The protective effects of standardized curcuminoid extract (SCE) on vascular inflammation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was studied and the mechanistic involvement of microRNAs in their antiinflammatory activity was assessed. Inflammation was induced by Escherichia coli lipopolysacharides and it was shown that curcuminoids protect HUVEC from inflammation-induced TLR-4 signalling and expression of cell adhesion molecules through mechanisms not involving microRNA-146a or microRNA-126.

To read the article in full for free until 17th October, click on the link below…

Standardized curcuminoid extract (Curcuma longa l.) decreases gene expression related to inflammation and interacts with associated microRNAs 1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), Gabriela Angel-Morales, Giuliana Noratto and Susanne Mertens-Talcott, Food Funct., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2fo30023k

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Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), found in ground beef extract, has been reported to show many beneficial health effects including anticancer activity and anti-obesity behaviour. The mechanism for the anti-obesity activity of CLA and its isomers is thought to involve an increase in energy expenditure, reduced adipocyte number and size, and an increase in lipolysis. However, the full mechanism and the influence of CLA isomers is not fully understood.

In this work, Yeonhwa Park and co-workers from the US investigated the effect of CLA on voluntary physical activity in an animal model using young N2KO mice. It was found that CLA improves voluntary physical activity in the animal model and reduced body fat by reducing serum triglyceride levels and down-regulatin mRNA expressions of C/EBPaand leptin. These findings suggest that dietary CLA could prevent inactivity-induced obesity, which may in turn prevent weight gain. The work could provide a foundation for future clinical trials using CLA for obesity prevention.

Look out for the story in Chemistry World!

Read the full article for free until the 12th October:

Preventive effects of conjugated linoleic acid on obesity by improved physical activity in nescient basic helix-loop-helix 2 knockout mice during growth period, Jun Ho Kim, Darla Gilliard, Deborah J. Good and Yeonhwa Park, Food Funct., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2fo30103b

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It is well known that maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle is important for weight management and controlling obesity. However, obesity and related diseases such as type-2 diabetes are reaching epidemic proportions – trebling in Europe over the past 20 years. There are drug-based treatments available to control obesity and appetite, but these are often associated with adverse side-effects. Therefore the possibility to develop functional foods which are both nutritionally beneficial and also aid weight management is highly desirable.

Peptides produced by enteroendocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract have been shown to be important bioactive ingredients in functional foods because they regulate feed intake and satiety. In this Food & Function review by Linda Giblin and co-workers from Ireland, the interaction of functional foods with these cells are discussed in the context of developing foods with positive health benefits for obesity. The abilty of food components to modulate hormonal signals from gastrointestinal enteroendocrine cells are covered, including areas such as satiety signalling, incretin signalling and mechanisms of nutrient sensing.

To find out more, read the article for free until 2nd October by clicking the link below:

The effects of food components on hormonal signalling in gastrointestinal enteroendocrine cells, Christine M. Bruen, Fiona O’Halloran, Kevin D. Cashman and Linda Giblin, Food Funct., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2FO30086A

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Creaminess is a popular sensory feature of many fat-containing foods, particularly dairy foods such as ice creams, yoghurts and sauces and has an important influence on consumers’ preferences.  A consumer has no difficulty distinguishing a creamy food from a non-creamy one; however, the exact meaning of the sensory term is unclear despite wide study.  There is an increasing consumer demand for healthier fat-reduced food and although there are many different types of fat replacers which mimic some aspects of fat there is no replacer that can really mimic creaminess due to the lack of understanding of the sensory feature. 

Two main theories have emerged to explain creaminess, one that it is a chemical process based on molecule detection by taste buds, the other that it is a physical process based on sensing by mechanoreceptors and nerve endings in the mouth.  Although the two theories are contradictory, both have experimental evidence to support them.

The aim of this investigation by Jianshe Chen and Louise Eaton from the University of Leeds, UK, was to determine the main sensory stimuli and sensation mechanisms of food creaminess. The sensory creaminess of a set of four viscosity-matched fluid foods (single cream, evaporated milk, corn starch solution, and corn starch solution containing long chain free fatty acids) was tested by a panel of 16 assessors via controlled sensation mechanisms of smell only, taste only, taste and tactile and integrated multimodal.  The results showed that assessors were able to detect creaminess among fat-containing and non-fat-containing samples using smell, taste, tactile and multimodal inputs. As the number of sensory cues is increased, the assessor’s capability in distinguishing food creaminess also increases. Based on these findings, one may conclude that:

• Sensation and perception of creaminess is a complicated sensory experience, involving olfactory, gustatory, tactile, as well as visual mechanisms. The appearance of a product and its flavour make important contributions in the perception of food creaminess
• Food creaminess is not a primary sensory property detected only via either chemical or physical mechanisms, but is an integrated sensory feature derived from a number of primary sensory factors (smell, taste, tactile, visual, etc.)
• long chain fatty acids play no significant role in the perception of food creaminess.

Interested in knowing more? Read the full article for free until 28^th September

Multimodal mechanisms of food creaminess sensation, Jianshe Chen and Louise Eaton, Food Funct., 2012, Advance Article

You may also be interested in this recently published article, free till the end of September, which features on the cover of the current issue of Food & Function, a themed issue on cocoa, coffee and tea.

Impact of crema on the aroma release and the in-mouth sensory perception of espresso coffee, D. Barron, N. Pineau, W. Matthey-Doret, S. Ali, J. Sudre, J. C. Germain, E. Kolodziejczyk, P. Pollien, D. Labbe, C. Jarisch, V. Dugas, C. Hartmann and B. Folmer, Food Funct., 2012, 3, 923-930

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Lipid digestion has been widely studied because of its impact on human health and the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, ethical issues make in vivo human studies difficult, therefore, numerous in vitro digestion models have been developed which mimic the conditions in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT). Dairy calcium has been shown to affect fat lipolysis and can reduce body weight and LDL cholesterols. However, the mechanism by which calcium lowers the blood cholesterol remains unclear.

In this work, Slavka Tcholakova and co-workers have developed a simple in vitro model for triglyceride (TG) lipolysis which mimics closely the conditions in the human stomach and small intestine. In this new model the pH profile in the small intestine is closely matched to real conditions using a bicarbonate buffer and the experimental procedure does not include complex equipment. In their study the proposed in vitro model was used to assess the effects of Ca2+, pH, and bicarbonate on the degree of TG lipolysis and on the solubilization of the lipolysis products and cholesterol in the aqueous phase. The model is also appropriate for studying other phenomena making it a versatile tool for studying the lipid-related phenomena occurring in the gastrointestinal tract.

Read the article for free until 18th September by clicking the link below:

In vitrostudy of triglyceride lipolysis and phase distribution of the reaction products and cholesterol: effects of calcium and bicarbonate, Zahari Vinarov, Liliya Petrova, Slavka Tcholakova, Nikolai Denkov Denkov, Simeon D. Stoyanov and Alex Lipse, Food Funct., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2fo30085k

You may also be interested in this review article, also free to access:

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

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.