ALBERT

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉〈em〉Allium〈/em〉 vegetables are widely consumed around the world and are known for their potential bioactive components improving human health. These effects have been extensively investigated; however, the results were inconsistent in human studies. Biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) could provide objective measurements of food intake in observational studies and assess compliance in intervention studies. Therefore, the discovery and application of BFIs for 〈em〉Allium〈/em〉 vegetables would facilitate the exploring and understanding of the health benefit of 〈em〉Allium〈/em〉 vegetables. In this manuscript, we reviewed the currently used and potential candidate BFIs for 〈em〉Allium〈/em〉 vegetables and evaluated their levels of validation. 〈em〉S〈/em〉-Allylmercapturic acid (ALMA), allyl methyl sulfide (AMS), allyl methyl sulfoxide (AMSO), allyl methyl sulfone (AMSO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉), and 〈em〉S〈/em〉-allylcysteine (SAC), which are derived from organosulfur compounds, were shown to be promising candidate BFIs for garlic consumption. Further validation is needed to assess their robustness and concordance with other measures. Their applicability for the whole food group should be evaluated as well. 〈em〉N〈/em〉-Acetyl-〈em〉S〈/em〉-(2-carboxypropyl)cysteine (CPMA) was detected in high levels in urine after both garlic and onion intake, suggesting that it may be used for the assessment of intake of 〈em〉Allium〈/em〉 food group. The available information regarding its kinetics, robustness, and analytical performance is limited and needs to be assessed in further studies. No candidate BFIs specific to intake of onion, leek, chives, shallots, or ramsons were found. Untargeted metabolomics studies and further validation studies should be performed to discover more reliable BFIs for individual 〈em〉Allium〈/em〉 vegetables and the whole food group. This paper serves as an example of Biomarker of Food Intake Reviews (BFIRev) and biomarker of food intake validation procedures.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Background〈/h3〉 〈p〉Hypovitaminosis D is prevalent worldwide. It is more prevalent in Eastern Asia region, including Korea. In addition to various environmental factors that influence serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration, genetic influence also plays a significant role based on studies estimating the heritability of 25(OH)D in non-Asian populations. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic influence on serum 25(OH)D concentration in Korean men using the twin and family data.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Methods〈/h3〉 〈p〉A total of 1126 Korean male adult twins and family members from the Healthy Twin Study with serum 25(OH)D measurement were included in this cross-sectional study. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and heritability were calculated by mixed linear regression analysis and quantitative genetic analysis after adjusting for environmental and lifestyle factors.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Results〈/h3〉 〈p〉Mean (± standard deviation; SD) of serum 25(OH)D concentration was 15.34 ± 6.18 ng/ml. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency was 19.8% and that of vitamin D deficiency was 77.9%. After adjusting for age, the highest ICC (0.61) was observed for monozygotic twin pairs while the lowest ICC (0.31) was found for father-son pairs. Age-adjusted heritability was estimated to be 58%. When physical activity, multivitamin intake and season of blood sampling were further considered, the ICC and heritability did not materially change. In the sensitivity analysis after excluding known multivitamin users, age-adjusted heritability was reduced to 44%.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Conclusions〈/h3〉 〈p〉In our study of Korean male twins and family members, heritability of 25(OH)D was moderately high. This supports the finding that genetic factors have significant influence on vitamin D status.〈/p〉 〈/span〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Background〈/h3〉 〈p〉Microbial communities are influenced by environmental factors including host genetics. We investigated the relationship between host bitter taste receptor genotype hTAS2R38 and oral microbiota, together with the influence of geographical location.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Methods〈/h3〉 〈p〉hTAS2R38 polymorphisms and 16S bacterial gene sequencing from oral samples were analyzed from a total of 45 healthy volunteers from different geographical locations.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Results〈/h3〉 〈p〉Genetic variation in the bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 reflected in the microbial composition of oral mucosa in Finnish and Spanish subjects. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in the microbial composition between country and also dependent on taste genotype. Oral microbiota was shown to be more stable to the geographical location impact among AVI-homozygotes than PAV-homozygotes or heterozygotes (PAV/AVI).〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Conclusion〈/h3〉 〈p〉Geographical location and genetic variation in the hTAS2R38 taste receptor impact oral mucosa microbial composition. These findings provide an advance in the knowledge regarding the interactions between taste receptor genes and oral microbiota. This study suggests the role of host-microbiota interactions on the food taste perception in food choices, nutrition, and eating behavior.〈/p〉 〈/span〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Background〈/h3〉 〈p〉To unravel true links between diet and health, it is important that dietary exposure is accurately measured. Currently, mainly self-reporting methods (e.g. food frequency questionnaires and 24-h recalls) are used to assess food intake in epidemiological studies. However, these traditional instruments are subjective measures and contain well-known biases. Especially, estimating the intake of the group of confectionary products, such as products containing cocoa and liquorice, remains a challenge. The use biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) may provide a more objective measurement. However, an overview of current candidate biomarkers and their validity is missing for both cocoa- and liquorice-containing foods.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Objective〈/h3〉 〈p〉The purpose of the current study was to (1) identify currently described candidate BFIs for cocoa (products) and liquorice, (2) to evaluate the validity of these identified candidate BFIs and (3) to address further validation and/or identification work to be done.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Methods〈/h3〉 〈p〉This systematic review was based on a comprehensive literature search of three databases (PubMed, Scopus and ISI web of Science), to identify candidate BFIs. Via a second search step in the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB), the Food Database (FooDB) and Phenol-Explorer, the specificity of the candidate BFIs was evaluated, followed by an evaluation of the validity of the specific candidate BFIs, via pre-defined criteria.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Results〈/h3〉 〈p〉In total, 37 papers were included for cocoa and 8 papers for liquorice. For cocoa, 164 unique candidate BFIs were obtained, and for liquorice, four were identified in total. Despite the high number of identified BFIs for cocoa, none of the metabolites was specific. Therefore, the validity of these compounds was not further examined. For liquorice intake, 18-glycyrrhetinic acid (18-GA) was found to have the highest assumed validity.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Conclusions〈/h3〉 〈p〉For cocoa, specific BFIs were missing, mainly because the individual BFIs were also found in foods having a similar composition, such as tea (polyphenols) or coffee (caffeine). However, a combination of individual BFIs might lead to discriminating profiles between cocoa (products) and foods with a similar composition. Therefore, studies directly comparing the consumption of cocoa to these similar products are needed, enabling efforts to find a unique profile per product. For liquorice, we identified 18-GA as a promising BFI; however, important information on its validity is missing; thus, more research is necessary. Our findings indicate a need for more studies to determine acceptable BFIs for both cocoa and liquorice.〈/p〉 〈/span〉

Description: 〈p〉Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported a spelling error of the third author’s name, Mar Garcia Aloy.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Fruit is a key component of a healthy diet. However, it is still not clear whether some classes of fruit may be more beneficial than others and whether all individuals whatever their age, gender, health status, genotype, or gut microbiota composition respond in the same way to fruit consumption. Such questions require further observational and intervention studies in which the intake of a specific fruit can be precisely assessed at the population and individual levels. Within the Food Biomarker Alliance Project (FoodBAll Project) under the Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life”, an ambitious action was undertaken aiming at reviewing existent literature in a systematic way to identify validated and promising biomarkers of intake for all major food groups, including fruits. This paper belongs to a series of reviews following the same BFIRev protocol and is focusing on biomarkers of pome and stone fruit intake. Selected candidate biomarkers extracted from the literature search went through a validation process specifically developed for food intake biomarkers.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈p〉Dairy and egg products constitute an important part of Western diets as they represent an excellent source of high-quality proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats. Dairy and egg products are highly diverse and their associations with a range of nutritional and health outcomes are therefore heterogeneous. Such associations are also often weak or debated due to the difficulty in establishing correct assessments of dietary intake. Therefore, in order to better characterize associations between the consumption of these foods and health outcomes, it is important to identify reliable biomarkers of their intake. Biomarkers of food intake (BFIs) provide an accurate measure of intake, which is independent of the memory and sincerity of the subjects as well as of their knowledge about the consumed foods. We have, therefore, conducted a systematic search of the scientific literature to evaluate the current status of potential BFIs for dairy products and BFIs for egg products commonly consumed in Europe. Strikingly, only a limited number of compounds have been reported as markers for the intake of these products and none of them have been sufficiently validated. A series of challenges hinders the identification and validation of BFI for dairy and egg products, in particular, the heterogeneous composition of these foods and the lack of specificity of the markers identified so far. Further studies are, therefore, necessary to validate these compounds and to discover new candidate BFIs. Untargeted metabolomic strategies may allow the identification of novel biomarkers, which, when taken separately or in combination, could be used to assess the intake of dairy and egg products.〈/p〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Background〈/h3〉 〈p〉Ninety-seven independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are robustly associated with adult body mass index (BMI kg/m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉) in Caucasian populations. The relevance of such variants in African populations at different stages of the life course (such as childhood) is unclear. We tested whether a genetic risk score composed of the aforementioned SNPs was associated with BMI from infancy to early adulthood. We further tested whether this genetic effect was mediated by conditional weight gain at different growth periods. We used data from the Birth to Twenty Plus Cohort (Bt20+), for 971 urban South African black children from birth to 18 years. DNA was collected at 13 years old and was genotyped using the Metabochip (Illumina) array. The weighted genetic risk score (wGRS) for BMI was constructed based on 71 of the 97 previously reported SNPs.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Results〈/h3〉 〈p〉The cross-sectional association between the wGRS and BMI strengthened with age from 5 to 18 years. The significant associations were observed from 11 to 18 years, and peak effect sizes were observed at 13 and 14 years of age. Results from the linear mixed effects models showed significant interactions between the wGRS and age on longitudinal BMI but no such interactions were observed in sex and the wGRS. A higher wGRS was associated with an increased relative risk of belonging to the early onset obese longitudinal BMI trajectory (relative risk = 1.88; 95%CI 1.28 to 2.76) compared to belonging to a normal longitudinal BMI trajectory. Adolescent conditional relative weight gain had a suggestive mediation effect of 56% on the association between wGRS and obesity risk at 18 years.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Conclusions〈/h3〉 〈p〉The results suggest that genetic susceptibility to higher adult BMI can be tracked from childhood in this African population. This supports the notion that prevention of adult obesity should begin early in life. The genetic risk score combined with other non-genetic risk factors, such as BMI trajectory membership in our case, has the potential to be used to screen for early identification of individuals at increased risk of obesity and other related NCD risk factors in order to reduce the adverse health risk outcomes later.〈/p〉 〈/span〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Background〈/h3〉 〈p〉The neurodegenerative disorder Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the accumulation of toxic aggregates of β-amyloid in the human brain. On the one hand, hyperhomocysteinemia has been shown to be a risk factor for cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand, betaine has been demonstrated to attenuate Alzheimer-like pathological changes induced by homocysteine. It is reasonable to conclude that this is due to triggering the remethylation pathway mediated by betaine-homocysteine-methyltransferase. In the present study, we used the transgenic 〈em〉Caenorhabditis elegans〈/em〉 strain CL2006, to test whether betaine is able to reduce β-amyloid-induced paralysis in 〈em〉C. elegans〈/em〉. This model expresses human β-amyloid 1–42 under control of a muscle-specific promoter that leads to progressive, age-dependent paralysis in the nematodes.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Results〈/h3〉 〈p〉Betaine at a concentration of 100 μM was able to reduce homocysteine levels in the presence and absence of 1 mM homocysteine. Simultaneously, betaine both reduced normal paralysis rates in the absence of homocysteine and increased paralysis rates triggered by addition of homocysteine. Knockdown of cystathionine-β-synthase using RNA interference both increased homocysteine levels and paralysis. Additionally, it prevented the reducing effects of betaine on homocysteine levels and paralysis.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Conclusion〈/h3〉 〈p〉Our studies show that betaine is able to reduce homocysteine levels and β-amyloid-induced toxicity in a 〈em〉C. elegans〈/em〉 model for Alzheimer’s disease. This effect is independent of the remethylation pathway but requires the transsulfuration pathway mediated by cystathionine-β-synthase.〈/p〉 〈/span〉

Description: 〈h3〉Abstract〈/h3〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Background〈/h3〉 〈p〉Intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) neonates impair postnatal skeletal muscle growth. The aim of this study was to investigate whether high nutrient intake (HNI) during the suckling period could improve muscle growth and metabolic status of IUGR pigs.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Methods〈/h3〉 〈p〉Twelve pairs of IUGR and normal birth weight (NBW) pigs (7 days old) were randomly assigned to adequate nutrient intake and HNI formula milk groups. Psoas major (PM) muscle sample was obtained after 21 days of rearing.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Results〈/h3〉 〈p〉IUGR decreased cross-sectional areas (CSA) and myofiber numbers, activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), ribosomal protein s6 (RPS6), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), protein expression of phosphorylated mTOR (P-mTOR), and phosphorylated protein kinase B (P-Akt) in the PM muscle of pigs. Irrespective of birth weight, HNI increased muscle weight and CSA, the concentration of RNA, and ratio of RNA to DNA, as well as ratio of LDH to β-hydroxy-acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase in the PM muscle of pigs. Furthermore, HNI increased percentages of MyHC IIb, mRNA expression of IGF-1, IGF-1R, Akt, mTOR, RPS6, and eIF4E, as well as protein expression of P-mTOR, P-Akt, P-RPS6, and P-eIF4E in the PM muscle of pigs.〈/p〉 〈/span〉 〈span〉 〈h3〉Conclusion〈/h3〉 〈p〉The present findings suggest that high nutrient intake during the suckling period could improve skeletal muscle growth and maturity, which is associated with increasing the expression of protein deposition-related genes and accelerating the development of glycolytic-type myofiber in pigs.〈/p〉 〈/span〉