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Topic Review
Biography
Peer Reviewed Entry
Video Entry
Topic Review
Microbiome in Critically Ill Patients
Critically ill patients have an alteration in the microbiome in which it becomes a disease-promoting pathobiome. It is characterized by lower bacterial diversity, loss of commensal phyla, like Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, and a domination of pathogens belonging to the Proteobacteria phylum. Critically ill patients also have a hyperpermeable gut barrier and dysregulation of the inflammatory response that favor the development of the pathobiome, translocation of pathogens, and facilitate the emergence of sepsis.
576
13 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Edible Plant Sprouts
The consumption of plant sprouts as part of human day-to-day diets is gradually increasing, and their health benefit is attracting interest across multiple disciplines. The purpose of this review was to (a) critically evaluate the phytochemicals in selected sprouts (alfalfa, buckwheat, broccoli, and red cabbage), (b) describe the health benefits of sprouts, (c) assess the recent advances in sprout production, (d) rigorously evaluate their safety, and (e) suggest directions that merit special consideration for further novel research on sprouts. Young shoots are characterized by high levels of health-benefiting phytochemicals. Their utility as functional ingredients has been extensively described. Tremendous advances in the production and safety of sprouts have been made over the recent past and numerous reports have appeared in mainstream scientific journals describing their nutritional and medicinal properties.
575
01 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Gut Influences Development and Disease
The microbiome lies at the forefront of scientific research, as researchers work to uncover its mys-terious influence on human development and disease.
574
15 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Cannabinoids/Endocannabinoid Control of Food Intake
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous signaling system formed by specific receptors (cannabinoid type 1 and type 2 (CB1 and CB2)), their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids), and enzymes involved in their synthesis and degradation. The ECS, centrally and peripherally, is involved in various physiological processes, including regulation of energy balance, promotion of metabolic process, food intake, weight gain, promotion of fat accumulation in adipocytes, and regulation of body homeostasis; thus, its overactivity may be related to obesity.
574
06 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Molecular Pathways Affected by CR
The circadian rhythm plays a chief role in the adaptation of all bodily processes to internal and environmental changes on the daily basis. Next to light/dark phases, feeding patterns constitute the most essential element entraining daily oscillations, and therefore, timely and appropriate restrictive diets have a great capacity to restore the circadian rhythm. One of the restrictive nutritional approaches, caloric restriction (CR) achieves stunning results in extending health span and life span via coordinated changes in multiple biological functions from the molecular, cellular, to the whole–body levels. The main molecular pathways affected by CR include mTOR, insulin signaling, AMPK, and sirtuins. Members of the family of nuclear receptors, the three peroxisome proliferator–activated receptors (PPARs), PPARα, PPARβ/δ, and PPARγ take part in the modulation of these pathways.
574
27 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Vitamin D and Infertility
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in calcium and phosphate homeostasis, by increasing intestinal calcium absorption and renal calcium reabsorption. For vitamin D, accumulating evidence from observational human studies suggests a key role for both male and female fertility.
574
03 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Non-Communicable Diseases and Nutrition
For the prevention of obesity and other non-communicable diseases (NCD), it is necessary to implement food education programs in the pediatric age. To prevent obesity and other NCD, in the age of development (0–18 years), education interventions to a healthy diet must be designed, implemented and monitored by a multidisciplinary team which should take into account medical, psychological and pedagogical scientific evidence.
572
02 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Weight Loss and Hypertension
Arterial hypertension is strongly related to overweight and obesity. In obese subjects, several mechanisms may lead to hypertension such as insulin and leptin resistance, perivascular adipose tissue dysfunction, renal impairment, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system activation and sympathetic nervous system activity. Weight loss (WL) seems to have positive effects on blood pressure (BP).
572
22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Copper and Copper/Zinc Ratio in Cystic Fibrosis Patients
Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients require a stable and sufficient supply of micronutrients. Since copper is an essential micronutrient for human development, studies are carried out to investigate the serum copper levels, serum copper/zinc (Cu/Zn) ratios, and their relationship with nutritional indicators in a group of CF patients. There was no significant correlation between the serum copper concentrations and respiratory and pancreatic function, respiratory colonization, and the results of the abdominal ultrasound.
572
03 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Nutrition, mitochondrial functioning and cognition
Aging is inevitable and it is one of the major contributors to cognitive decline. However, the mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline are still the object of extensive research. At the biological level, it is unknown how the aging brain is subjected to progressive oxidative stress and neuroinflammation which determine, among others, mitochondrial dysfunction. The link between mitochondrial dysfunction and cognitive impairment is becoming ever more clear by the presence of significant neurological disturbances in human mitochondrial diseases. Possibly, the most important lifestyle factor determining mitochondrial functioning is nutrition.
569
06 Apr 2021
Topic Review
25Years Research in Human Lactation
Human milk promotes optimum growth, development, and health of the infant; however the mechanisms that govern both the variation of composition and the pathways by which it delivers benefits to the infant are not well understood. Increasingly maternal and environmental factors are being associated with milk composition. A recent systematic review indicated maternal adiposity was related to HM lactose and fat concentrations.
569
22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Associations of Linoleic Acid Intake and Chronic Disease
The intake of linoleic acid (LA) has increased dramatically in the standard American diet. LA is generally promoted as supporting human health, but there exists controversy regarding whether the amount of LA currently consumed in the standard American diet supports human health. While LA is considered to be an essential fatty acid and support health when consumed in modest amounts, an excessive intake of LA leads to the formation of oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs), impairments in mitochondrial function through suboptimal cardiolipin composition, and likely contributes to many chronic diseases that became an epidemic in the 20th century, and whose prevalence continues to increase. As LA consumption increases, the potential for OXLAM formation also increases. OXLAMs have been associated with various illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, among others. Lowering dietary LA intake can help reduce the production and accumulation of OXLAMs implicated in chronic diseases.
569
25 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Thymus baicalensis Plant of Mongolian Origin
Thymus baicalensis is a medicinal plant recognized as a traditional Mongolian therapeutic and health-promoting food supplement.
568
17 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Arachidonic, Docosahexaenoic Acids and neurodevelopment
The long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), docosahexaenoic acid,22:6n-3 (DHA), and arachidonic acid,20:4n-6 (ARA) are important nutrients required for fetal brain growth and development. The accumulation of DHA and ARA in the fetal brain predominantly occurs in the third trimester of a human pregnancy. The de novo synthesis of these LCPUFAs seems low in a growing fetus and placenta; the maternal intake of these fatty acids contributes a significant share for brain development.
567
30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Predefined Diets of IBD
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease mediated by the immune system and characterized by the importance of diet in pathological development.
565
04 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Nutritional Interventions for Necrotizing Enterocolitis
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which is characterized by severe intestinal inflammation and in advanced stages necrosis, is a gastrointestinal emergency in the neonate with high mortality and morbidity. Despite advancing medical care, effective prevention strategies remain sparse. Factors contributing to the complex pathogenesis of NEC include immaturity of the intestinal immune defense, barrier function, motility and local circulatory regulation and abnormal microbial colonization. Interestingly, enteral feeding is regarded as an important modifiable factor influencing NEC pathogenesis. Moreover, breast milk, which forms the currently most effective prevention strategy, contains many bioactive components that are known to support neonatal immune development and promote healthy gut colonization. This systematic review describes the effect of different enteral feeding interventions on the prevention of NEC incidence and severity and the effect on pathophysiological mechanisms of NEC, in both experimental NEC models and clinical NEC. Besides, pathophysiological mechanisms involved in human NEC development are briefly described to give context for the findings of altered pathophysiological mechanisms of NEC by enteral feeding interventions.
565
24 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Ruminant Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles
Milk has been shown to contain a specific fraction of extracellular particles that are reported to resist digestion and are purposefully packaged with lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids to exert specific biological effects. These findings suggest that these particles may have a role in the quality of infant nutrition, particularly in the early phase of life when many of the foundations of an infant’s potential for health and overall wellness are established. However, much of the current research focuses on human or cow milk only, and there is a knowledge gap in how milk from other species, which may be more commonly consumed in different regions, could also have these reported biological effects.
565
11 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Gut Microbiota and Cardiovascular Disease
Emerging data have demonstrated a strong association between the gut microbiota and the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as atherosclerosis, inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance, platelet hyperactivity, and plasma lipid abnormalities. Several studies in humans and animal models have demonstrated an association between gut microbial metabolites such as trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), short-chain fatty acids, and bile acid metabolites (amino acid breakdown products) with CVD. Human blood platelets are a critical contributor to the hemostatic process. Besides, these blood cells play a crucial role in developing atherosclerosis and, finally, contribute to cardiac events. Since the TMAO, and other metabolites of the gut microbiota, are associated with platelet hyperactivity, lipid disorders, and oxidative stress, the diet-gut microbiota interactions have become an important research area in the cardiovascular field. The gut microbiota and their metabolites may be targeted for the therapeutic benefit of CVD from a clinical perspective.
564
03 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Synbiotics in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic relapsing gastrointestinal disorders that are characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The involvement of three distinct recurrent inflammatory features that sustains the chronic inflammation in IBD have been clearly identified that includes, disturbances in the gut microbiota, dysregulated immune response and altered colonic epithelial integrity. Dietary components such as prebiotic dietary fibres (DF) and probiotics due to their potential in modulating immune functions and influencing microbiota are promising strategies in the context of IBD. In this entry, we review the recent evidence from in-vivo studies to support the application of synergistic synbiotic carrying whole-plant complex prebiotic fibre and probiotic in resolving in the inflammatory cycle in IBD.
564
16 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Curcuma Longa
Due to the global increase in lifespan, the proportion of people showing cognitive impairment is expected to grow exponentially. As target-specific drugs capable of tackling dementia are lagging behind, the focus of preclinical and clinical research has recently shifted towards natural products. Curcumin, one of the best investigated botanical constituents in the biomedical literature, has been receiving increased interest due to its unique molecular structure, which targets inflammatory and antioxidant pathways. These pathways have been shown to be critical for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and more in general for cognitive decline. Despite the substantial preclinical literature on the potential biomedical effects of curcumin, its relatively low bioavailability, poor water solubility and rapid metabolism/excretion have hampered clinical trials, resulting in mixed and inconclusive findings. In this review, we highlight current knowledge on the potential effects of this natural compound on cognition. Furthermore, we focus on new strategies to overcome current limitations in its use and improve its efficacy, with attention also on gender-driven differences.
563
10 May 2021
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