Mastication effects on carotenoid bioaccessibility from mango fruit tissue

The release of carotenoids from fresh fruits or vegetables is determined by the encapsulating plant tissue matrix, intracellular carotenoid location within the cell, and the mastication process. The objectives of this study were to assess the particle sizes obtained after mastication of mango fruit tissue, and how the resulting degree of plant tissue rupture affects carotenoid bioaccessibility. A fine and a coarse chewer were selected after screening 20 healthy volunteers for in vivo human mastication, and the collected chewed boluses were subjected to wet sieving fractionation, followed by an in vitro gastric and small intestinal digestion model. Confocal micrographs show that the smallest particle size fraction (0.075 mm) consists mostly of fragmented cells and the largest size fraction (2.8 mm) contains bulky clusters of whole cells and vascular fibers. Higher amounts of total carotenoids (211–320 μg/100 g) were observed in the larger particle size fraction (2.8 mm) relative to the 1 mm (192–249 μg/100 g) and 0.075 mm fractions (136–199 μg/100 g). Smaller particles showed a greater % release of total carotenoids after in vitro digestion. Xanthophyll derivatives are more bioaccessible than β-carotene for all particle sizes. The effects of particle size or degree of fine vs coarse chewing are unexpectedly small (p > 0.05), but the process of chewing substantially reduced the release of β-carotene and xanthophylls by 34% and 18%, respectively. While there is a (small) particle size effect, this appears to not be the primary factor controlling bioaccessibility for soft tissues such as mango, in contrast to previous reports that a single cell wall appears to be enough to prevent bioaccessibility of carotenoids in more robust carrot tissues

Regional diets targeting gut microbial dynamics to support prolonged healthspan

In the last 150 years, we have seen a significant increase in average life expectancy, associated with a shift from infectious to non-communicable diseases. The rising incidence of these diseases, for which age is often the largest risk factor, highlights the need for contemporary societies to improve healthy ageing for their growing silver generations. As ageing is an inevitable, non-reversing and highly individualised process, we need to better understand how non-genetic factors like diet choices and commensal gut microbes can modulate the biology of ageing. In this review, we discuss how geographical and ethnic variations influence habitual dietary patterns, nutrient structure, and gut microbial profiles with potential impact on the human healthspan. Several gut microbial genera have been associated with healthy elderly populations but are highly variable across populations. It seems unlikely that a universal pro-longevity gut microbiome exists. Rather, the optimal microbiome appears to be conditional on the microbial functionality acting on regional- and ethnicity-specific trends driven by cultural food context. We also highlight dietary and microbial factors that have been observed to elicit individual and clustered biological responses. Finally, we identify next generation avenues to modify otherwise fixed host functions and the individual ageing trajectory by manipulating the malleable gut microbiome with regionally adapted, personalised food intervention regimens targeted at prolonging human healthspan

Diet-Related Metabolites Associated with Cognitive Decline Revealed by Untargeted Metabolomics in a Prospective Cohort

Scope: Untargeted metabolomics may reveal preventive targets in cognitive aging, including within the food metabolome. Methods and results: A case-control study nested in the prospective Three-City study includes participants aged &65 years and initially free of dementia. A total of 209 cases of cognitive decline and 209 controls (matched for age, gen- der, education) with slower cognitive decline over up to 12 years are contrasted. Using untargeted metabolomics and bootstrap-enhanced penalized regression, a baseline serum signature of 22 metabolites associated with subsequent cognitive decline is identified. The signature includes three coffee metabolites, a biomarker of citrus intake, a cocoa metabolite, two metabolites putatively derived from fish and wine, three medium-chain acylcarnitines, glycodeoxycholic acid, lysoPC(18:3), trimethyllysine, glucose, cortisol, creatinine, and arginine. Adding the 22 metabolites to a reference predictive model for cognitive decline (conditioned on age, gender, education and including ApoE-ε4, diabetes, BMI, and number of medications) substantially increases the predictive performance: cross-validated Area Under the Receiver Operating Curve = 75% [95% CI 70-80%] compared to 62% [95% CI 56-67%]. Conclusions: The untargeted metabolomics study supports a protective role of specific foods (e.g., coffee, cocoa, fish) and various alterations in the endogenous metabolism responsive to diet in cognitive aging

Apolipoprotein E and sex modulate fatty acid metabolism in a prospective observational study of cognitive decline

Background: Fatty acids play prominent roles in brain function as they participate in structural, metabolic and signaling processes. The homeostasis of fatty acids and related pathways is known to be impaired in cognitive decline and dementia, but the relationship between these metabolic disturbances and common risk factors, namely the ɛ4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE-ɛ4) gene and sex, remains elusive. Methods: In order to investigate early alterations associated with cognitive decline in the fatty acid-related serum metabolome, we here applied targeted metabolomics analysis on a nested case-control study (N=368), part of a prospective population cohort on dementia. Results: When considering the entire study population, circulating levels of free fatty acids, acyl-carnitines and pantothenic acid were found to be increased among those participants who had greater odds of cognitive decline over a 12-year follow-up. Interestingly, stratified analyses indicated that these metabolomic alterations were specific for ApoE-ɛ4 non-carriers and women. Conclusions: Altogether, our results highlight that the regulation of fatty acids and related metabolic pathways during ageing and cognitive decline depends on complex inter-relationships between the ApoE-ε4 genotype and sex. A better understanding of the ApoE-ɛ4 and sex dependent modulation of metabolism is essential to elucidate the individual variability in the onset of cognitive decline, which would help develop personalized therapeutic approaches

Early signature in the blood lipidome associated with subsequent cognitive decline in the elderly: A case-control analysis nested within the Three-City cohort study

Background Brain lipid metabolism appears critical for cognitive aging, but whether alterations in the lipidome relate to cognitive decline remains unclear at the system level. Methods We studied participants from the Three-City study, a multicentric cohort of older persons, free of dementia at time of blood sampling, and who provided repeated measures of cognition over 12 subsequent years. We measured 189 serum lipids from 13 lipid classes using shotgun lipidomics in a case-control sample on cognitive decline (matched on age, sex and level of education) nested within the Bordeaux study center (discovery, n = 418). Associations with cognitive decline were investigated using bootstrapped penalized regression, and tested for validation in the Dijon study center (validation, n = 314). Findings Among 17 lipids identified in the discovery stage, lower levels of the triglyceride TAG50:5, and of four membrane lipids (sphingomyelin SM40:2,2, phosphatidylethanolamine PE38:5(18:1/20:4), ether-phosphatidylethanolamine PEO34:3(16:1/18:2), and ether-phosphatidylcholine PCO34:1(16:1/18:0)), and higher levels of PCO32:0(16:0/16:0), were associated with greater odds of cognitive decline, and replicated in our validation sample. Interpretation These findings indicate that in the blood lipidome of non-demented older persons, a specific profile of lipids involved in membrane fluidity, myelination, and lipid rafts, is associated with subsequent cognitive decline. Funding The complete list of funders is available at the end of the manuscript, in the Acknowledgement section

Interlaboratory Coverage Test on Plant Food Bioactive Compounds and their Metabolites by Mass Spectrometry-Based Untargeted Metabolomics.

Bioactive compounds present in plant-based foods, and their metabolites derived from gut microbiota and endogenous metabolism, represent thousands of chemical structures of potential interest for human nutrition and health. State-of-the-art analytical methodologies, including untargeted metabolomics based on high-resolution mass spectrometry, are required for the profiling of these compounds in complex matrices, including plant food materials and biofluids. The aim of this project was to compare the analytical coverage of untargeted metabolomics methods independently developed and employed in various European platforms. In total, 56 chemical standards representing the most common classes of bioactive compounds spread over a wide chemical space were selected and analyzed by the participating platforms (n = 13) using their preferred untargeted method. The results were used to define analytical criteria for a successful analysis of plant food bioactives. Furthermore, they will serve as a basis for an optimized consensus method

Nutrients

The gut microbiome is involved in nutrient metabolism and produces metabolites that, via the gut-brain axis, signal to the brain and influence cognition. Human studies have so far had limited success in identifying early metabolic alterations linked to cognitive aging, likely due to limitations in metabolite coverage or follow-ups. Older persons from the Three-City population-based cohort who had not been diagnosed with dementia at the time of blood sampling were included, and repeated measures of cognition over 12 subsequent years were collected. Using a targeted metabolomics platform, we identified 72 circulating gut-derived metabolites in a case-control study on cognitive decline, nested within the cohort (discovery n = 418; validation n = 420). Higher serum levels of propionic acid, a short-chain fatty acid, were associated with increased odds of cognitive decline (OR for 1 SD = 1.40 (95% CI 1.11, 1.75) for discovery and 1.26 (1.02, 1.55) for validation). Additional analyses suggested mediation by hypercholesterolemia and diabetes. Propionic acid strongly correlated with blood glucose (r = 0.79) and with intakes of meat and cheese (r > 0.15), but not fiber (r = 0.04), suggesting a minor role of prebiotic foods per se, but a possible link to processed foods, in which propionic acid is a common preservative. The adverse impact of propionic acid on metabolism and cognition deserves further investigation.COGINUT : Cognition, anti-oxydants, acides gras: approche interdisciplinaire du rôle de la nutrition dans le vieillissement du cerveauHistoire naturelle du déclin cognitif et du besoin de soins chez le sujet âg

The serum metabolome mediates the concert of diet, exercise, and neurogenesis, determining the risk for cognitive decline and dementia

INTRODUCTION: Diet and exercise influence the risk of cognitive decline (CD) and dementia through the food metabolome and exercise-triggered endogenous factors, which use the blood as a vehicle to communicate with the brain. These factors might act in concert with hippocampal neurogenesis (HN) to shape CD and dementia. METHODS: Using an in vitro neurogenesis assay, we examined the effects of serum samples from a longitudinal cohort (n = 418) on proxy HN readouts and their association with future CD and dementia across a 12-year period. RESULTS: Altered apoptosis and reduced hippocampal progenitor cell integrity were associated with exercise and diet and predicted subsequent CD and dementia. The effects of exercise and diet on CD specifically were mediated by apoptosis. DISCUSSION: Diet and exercise might influence neurogenesis long before the onset of CD and dementia. Alterations in HN could signify the start of the pathological process and potentially represent biomarkers for CD and dementia.Identification of dietary modulators of cognitive ageing and brain plasticity and proof of concept of efficacy for preventing-reversing cognitive declin

Prediction of retention time for plant food compounds & metabolites in a multi-laboratory initiative

Participating laboratories: University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Clermont-Ferrand; King's College, London; SzentIstván Egyetem, Budapest, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture Fisheries and Food, Bruxelles,Institute of Microbiology of the CAS, Prague, Quadram Institute,Norwich; Teagasc, Dublin; University of Barcelona, CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia, ICTAN-CSIC, Madrid, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Lisbon, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Olsztyn, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, As, Edmund Mach Foundation, San Michele all'Adige, University of Lisbon, University of Copenhagen, University of Parma.Plant food bioactives (flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans, carotenoids, monoterpenes, glucosinolates, alkaloids…) receive widespread interest for their protective health effects. However, their identification in untargeted metabolomic profiles of food, biofluids and tissues remains a challenging feat. Plant food bioactives and their Phase I, -II and gut microbial metabolites cover a large chemical space ranging from highly polar to lipophilic compounds and including aglycones, glycosides, and conjugated metabolites. Spectral libraries are incomplete for these compounds and standards are often costly or not commercially available. In addition to mass fragmentation data, retention time (RT) is a valuable information for assisting the identification of unknowns, as it helps to narrow the number of hypotheses within an observed RT window to a manageable number of compounds.In the framework of the COST Action POSITIVe (https://www6.inra.fr/cost-positive, FA1403), we evaluated the usefulness of PredRet (http://predret.org), an open access RT database, to predict RT of plant food bioactive metabolites in a multi-laboratory test involving 19 laboratories across Europe, using 24 reversed-phase LC-MS or LC-PDA Chromatographic Systems (CS=column + elution phases and gradient). PredRet is a community-driven database of compound RTs that is free to use to predict in your own CS the RT of compounds that have beenexperimentally measured in other CS