Neuroprotection of Food Bioactives in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Role of the Gut Microbiota and Innate Immune Receptors

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · 2023 · 19 citations

• Biology
• Immunology
• Neuroscience

Gut-brain connections may be mediated by an assortment of microbial molecules, which can subsequently traverse intestinal and blood-brain barriers and impact neurological function. Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are important innate immune proteins in the gut. Gut microbiota act in concert with the PRRs is a novel target for regulating host-microbe signaling and immune homeostasis, which may involve the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Natural food bioactives bestow a protective advantage on neurodegenerative diseases through immunomodulatory effects of the modified gut microbiota or alterations in the landscape of microbiota-produced metabolites via PRRs modulation. In this review, we discuss the effect of natural food bioactives on the gut microbiota and the role of PRRs in the gut-brain crosstalk. We focused on the neuroprotective mechanisms of natural bioactive compounds behind the action of the gut microbiota and PRRs. Research advances in natural food bioactives as antineurodegeneration agents were also presented.

Improving the stability and bioavailability of tea polyphenols by encapsulations: a review

Food Science and Human Wellness · 2022 · 115 citations

• Chemistry
• Biochemical engineering
• Nanotechnology

Tea polyphenols (TPPs) have attracted significant research interest due to their health benefits. However, TPPs are sensitive to certain environmental and gastrointestinal conditions and their oral bioavailability was found to be very low. Delivery systems made of food-grade materials have been reported to improve the shelf-life, bioavailability and bioefficacy of TPPs. This review discusses the chemistry of TPPs; the setbacks of TPPs for application; and the strategies to counteract application limitations by rationally designing delivery systems. An overview of different formulations used to encapsulate TPPs is provided in this study, such as emulsion-based systems (liposome, nanoemulsion, double emulsion, and Pickering emulsion) and nano/microparticles-based systems (protein-based, carbohydrate-based, and bi-polymer based). In addition, the stability, bioavailability and bioactivities of encapsulated TPPs are evaluated by various in vitro and in vivo models. The current findings provide scientific insights in encapsulation approaches for the delivery of TPPs, which can be of great value to TPPs-fortified food products. Further explorations are needed for the encapsulated TPPs in terms of their applications in the real food industry as well as their biological fate and functional pathways in vivo.

Degradation Mechanism of Soybean Protein B₃ Subunit Catalyzed by Prolyl Endopeptidase from <i>Aspergillus niger</i> during Soy Sauce Fermentation

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · 2022 · 36 citations

• Chemistry
• Food science
• Biochemistry

subunit and reducing the secondary precipitate of soy sauce, providing a new possibility to solve the secondary precipitate of soy sauce.

Non-destructive assessment of equivalent umami concentrations in salmon using hyperspectral imaging technology combined with multivariate algorithms

Spectrochimica Acta Part A Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy · 2022 · 10 citations

• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science
• Biological system