Potential Role of Bioactive Proteins and Peptides Derived from Legumes towards Metabolic Syndrome.

Legumes have been widely consumed and used to isolate bioactive compounds, mainly proteins. The aim of this study was to review the beneficial actions of different legumes proteins and peptides updating the main findings that correlate legumes consumption and the effects on non-transmissible chronic diseases, specifically metabolic syndrome. An exhaustive revision of five relevant bioactivities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, hypocholesterolemic -all of them linked to metabolic syndrome- and antitumoral) of proteins and peptides from legumes focused on isolation and purification, enzymatic hydrolysis and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion was carried out. The promising potential of bioactive hydrolysates and peptides from pulses has been demonstrated by in vitro tests. However, only a few studies validated these biological activities using animal models. No clinical trials have been carried out yet; so further research is required to elucidate their effective health implications.post-print374 K

Hidrolizados de proteínas de huevo como nuevos ingredientes funcionales frente al síndrome metabólico y sus complicaciones

Tesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias. Departamento de Química Física Aplicada. Fecha de lectura: 17-02-201

Antinutrients: Lectins, goitrogens, phytates and oxalates, friends or foe?.

The intake of foods derived from plants has been proposed as an useful strategy in the prevention of several chronic diseases. However, plants also possess a group of substances known as antinutrients, which may be responsible for deleterious effects related to the absorption of nutrients and micronutrients, or exert beneficial health effects. This review compiles scientific evidence regarding the physiological impact of some antinutrients (lectins, goitrogens, phytates and oxalates) in the human health, their negative effects and the culinary and industrial procedures to reduce their presence in foods. It can be concluded that, the effects of antinutrients on human health could change when consumed in their natural food matrix, and after processing or culinary treatment. Accordingly, some of these compounds could have beneficial effects in different pathological conditions. Future research is required to understand the therapeutic potential of these compounds in humans.post-print1647 K

Protein and Sport: Alternative Sources and Strategies for Bioactive and Sustainable Sports Nutrition.

Nutrition and sport play an important role in achieving a healthy lifestyle. In addition to the intake of nutrients derived from the normal diet, some sport disciplines require the consumption of supplements that contribute positively to improved athletic performance. Protein intake is important for many aspects related to health, and current evidence suggests that some athletes require increased amounts of this nutrient. On the other hand, society’s demand for more environmentally friendly products, focus on the search for alternative food sources more sustainable. This review aims to summarize the latest research on novel strategies and sources for greener and functional supplementation in sport nutrition. Alternative protein sources such as insects, plants or mycoproteins have proven to be an interesting substrate due to their high added value in terms of bioactivity and sustainability. Protein hydrolysis has proven to be a very useful technology to revalue by-products, such as collagen, by producing bioactive peptides beneficial on athletes performance and sport-related complications. In addition, it has been observed that certain amino acids from plant sources, as citrulline or theanine, can have an ergogenic effect for this target population. Finally, the future perspectives of protein supplementation in sports nutrition are discussed. In summary, protein supplementation in sports nutrition is a very promising field of research, whose future perspective lies with the search for alternatives with greater bioactive potential and more sustainable than conventional sources.post-print377 K

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet, Alcohol Consumption and Emotional Eating in Spanish University Students.

Introduction: The university period may increase the risk of different unhealthy habits, such as low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, high alcohol consumption and eating in response to specific emotions. The aim of this study was to detect early-risk alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence (ADS), the degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and emotional eating in university students of the Madrid community. (2) Methods: For each individual, anthropometric parameters, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), AUDIT-Consumption (AUDIT-C), the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) and the Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ) were assessed. (3) Results: A total of 584 university students aged 20.5 (sex ratio = 0.39) were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. In total, 63.6% of students showed low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, with no differences by sex (64.3% female versus 61.5% male, p = 0.19). According to the AUDIT questionnaire, 26.2% of participants were categorized as high-risk drinkers and 7.7% as ADS. About 38.6% of the students were categorized as eating very emotionally or eating emotionally, and 37.2% were categorized as low emotional eaters. A weak positive correlation was observed between the EEQ and BMI in female students (rho= 0.15, p = 0.03). (4) Conclusions: University students in our sample showed a low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, an important high-risk alcohol consumption and low emotional eating.post-print325 K

Influence of eating habits and alcohol consumption on the academic performance among a university population in the community of Madrid: A pilot study.

Objective To evaluate the association between dietary habits and alcohol consumption on academic performance among university students. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting University located in Madrid, Spain. Participants 56 university students of nursing (45 women and 11 men). The study complies with the Helsinki Declaration and was approved by the University Ethics Committee (36/2018). Main outcome measure Dietary intake and habits assessed with validated survey, alcohol consumption and academic performance. Analysis Chi-square test, Student's t-test, ANOVA analysis, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis analysis and Shapiro-Wilk test. Results The average daily energy intake of the students was 1918 ± 725 kcal and, on average, alcohol accounted for 6%. The increased energy contribution from alcohol was negatively correlated with body mass index (BMI). Moreover, an inverse association was also found in alcohol intake according to Body Mass Index (BMI) (p < 0.02). Students with failing grades (53.6%) reported a higher daily alcohol intake than those who passed (42.2 %) (32 g/day versus 24 g/day) (p = 0.043). Conclusions Alcohol consumption is related to both poor academic performance as well as diminished quality of life. Thus, it is of vital importance to undertake awareness campaigns at various levels to dissuade alcohol consumption especially at early ages.post-print440 K

Physical and Psychological Effects Related to Food Habits and Lifestyle Changes Derived from COVID-19 Home Confinement in the Spanish Population.

As a consequence of COVID-19, millions of households have suffered mobility restrictions and changes in their lifestyle over several months. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 home confinement on the food habits, lifestyle and emotional balance of the Spanish population. This cross-sectional study used data collected via an anonymous online questionnaire during the month before lockdown finished in Spain, with a total of 675 participants. 38.8% of the respondents experienced weight gain while 31.1% lost weight during confinement. The increase in body weight was positively correlated with age (Rs = 0.14, p < 0.05) and BMI (Rs = 0.20, p < 0.05). We also identified that 39.7% reported poorer quality sleep, positively correlated with BMI (Rs = −0.18, p < 0.05) and with age (Rs = −0.21, p < 0.05). 44.7% of the participants had not performed physical exercise during confinement with differences by sex (p < 0.05), by age (p < 0.05), by BMI (p < 0.05) and by sleep quality (p < 0.05). According to an emotional-eater questionnaire, 21.8% and 11% were classified as an emotional eater or a very emotional eater, respectively. We emphasize the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle, as the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing.post-print633 K

High Fat/High Glucose Diet Induces Metabolic Syndrome in an Experimental Rat Model.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is defined as a constellation of many metabolic disorders such as hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia and obesity, being this last disorder a key factor in the etiology of the syndrome. The widespread of MetS in actual society, mainly in developed countries, is becoming an important health problem and is increasing the need to develop new treatments against this pathology is increasing fast. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the MetS-associated alterations developed in a new glucose diet-induced-obesity (DIO) rodent model. These alterations were also compared to those alterations developed in a fructose-DIO rodent model. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Control (C), High-fat (HF), High-fat/high-fructose (HFF) and High-fat/high-glucose (HFG). The animals were fed ad libitum for 20 weeks. At the end of the study, HFG animals showed lower expression of energy expenditure genes when compared to the other DIO groups. Oxidative stress biomarkers such as MDA and mitochondrial RT-qPCR analyses showed an increase of oxidative damage together with mitochondrial dysfunction in HFG group. This group also showed increased insulin and glucose plasma levels, though HFF animals showed the greatest increase on these parameters. All DIO groups showed increased plasma levels of triglycerides. Altogether, our results indicated a better impact of glucose than fructose, when combined with a high-fat diet, to induce most of the alterations associated with MetS in rats. In addition, our research facilitates a new animal model to evaluate future treatments for MetS.post-print2242 K

Egg white hydrolysates as functional food ingredients to control the metabolic syndrome and related disorders

Memoria presentada por la Licenciada Marta Garcés Rimón para optar al grado de Doctor, realizada en el Departamento de Bioactividad y Análisis de los Alimentos del Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.[ES]: El objetivo global del presente trabajo ha consistido en la obtención de hidrolizados de proteínas de huevo que permitan controlar algunas de las patologías asociadas al síndrome metabólico (SM). Nuestra hipótesis de trabajo fue que la administración oral de un hidrolizado de clara de huevo, previamente seleccionado por su multiactividad biológica in vitro, podría mejorar y/o prevenir alteraciones cardiometabólicas tales como obesidad, dislipemia, diabetes e hipertensión.[EN]: The overall objective of the present work consisted in the production of hydrolysed egg white that would allow the control some of the pathologies associated with the metabolic syndrome. Our working hypothesis was that the oral administration of egg white protein hydrolysates, previously selected on the basis of their in vitro biological multi-activity, could treat and/or prevent cardiometabolic disorders, such as obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes and hypertension.Peer Reviewe

Development of an algorithm for adaptive and dynamic modelling of multiple metabolic models

One of the most relevant topics in the field of systems biology is the study of metabolic networks, as they offer a wide range of information on organisms in general, playing special importance to those used in Health and the Biotechnology industry. One of the most widely used methods to explore metabolism computationally is flux balance analysis (FBA), which can calculate the flow of metabolites through the metabolic network, seeking to optimise a given objective function, typically organism growth. A number of extensions to FBA allow for additional applications, such as DFBA (dynamic FBA), used to explore time-dependence. Curiously, most existing implementations still use a relatively inflexible deterministic approach. Work on optimisation of heterologous protein production at CNB revealed several limitations of DFBA and led to the development of a novel, flexible algorithm permitting full steered control of dynamic simulations (ADFBA, adaptive DFBA). Like DFBA, ADFBA is still limited to simulations with a single model. Recent work has extended deterministic DFBA for application in multi-model systems (MDFBA), but there is not yet a flexible method for dynamic modelling of multi-model systems (such as complex organisms or communities). In this work, we extend ADFBA to multi-model systems maintaining all its flexibility so that any change not inherent to the metabolic models can be simulated in an adaptive way, allowing for derived, separate, and independent responses by each of the component metabolic models of the system. Our algorithm, dubbed Multiple Adaptive DFBA (MADFBA) enables complex simulations of multi-tissue organisms, heterogeneous organism populations and their interactions, with adaptive response to external or internal changes to the system. We provide proof of concept examples that are necessarily limited due to the current lack of experimental reference data