Prebiotic Carbohydrates for Therapeutics.

Author(s):  
Renuka Basavaiah ◽  
Prapulla Siddalingaiya Gurudutt

: The food industry is constantly shifting focus based on prebiotics as health-promoting substrates rather than just food supplements. A prebiotic is ‘‘a selectively fermented ingredient that allows specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity in the gastrointestinal microflora that confers benefits upon host well-being and health.” Prebiotics exert a plethora of health-promoting effects, which has lead to the establishment of multimillion food and pharma industries. The following are the health benefits attributed to prebiotics: mineral absorption, better immune response, increased resistance to bacterial infection, improved lipid metabolism, possible protection against cancer, relief from poor digestion of lactose, and reduction in the risk of diseases such as intestinal disease, non-insulin dependent diabetes, obesity and allergy. Numerous studies in both animals and humans have demonstrated the health benefits of prebiotics.

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2666
Author(s):  
Barbara Stachowiak ◽  
Piotr Szulc

Xanthophyll astaxanthin, which is commonly used in aquaculture, is one of the most expensive and important industrial pigments. It is responsible for the pink and red color of salmonid meat and shrimp. Due to having the strongest anti-oxidative properties among carotenoids and other health benefits, natural astaxanthin is used in nutraceuticals and cosmetics, and in some countries, occasionally, to fortify foods and beverages. Its use in food technology is limited due to the unknown effects of long-term consumption of synthetic astaxanthin on human health as well as few sources and the high cost of natural astaxanthin. The article characterizes the structure, health-promoting properties, commercial sources and industrial use of astaxanthin. It presents the possibilities and limitations of the use of astaxanthin in food technology, considering its costs and food safety. It also presents the possibilities of stabilizing astaxanthin and improving its bioavailability by means of micro- and nanoencapsulation.


2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Koot ◽  
A. Oldenhave ◽  
G. J. Bruining ◽  
H. J. Aanstoot

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bonetto ◽  
Sylvain Delouvée ◽  
Yara Mahfud ◽  
Jais Adam-Troian

Social distancing and mass quarantines were implemented worldwide in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Prior research on the effects of social isolation has shown that such measures bear negative consequences for population health and well-being. Conversely, a growing body of evidence suggests that feeling positively identified with a group is associated with a range of physical and mental health benefits. This effect is referred to as the social cure and generalizes to various identities. In line with these findings, this study tested whether national identification could promote wellbeing and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we used survey data conducted among 67 countries (N = 46,450) which included measures of wellbeing, national identification, and subjective physical health. Mixed-model analyses revealed that national identity was indeed associated with wellbeing - despite adjustment on social belonging, COVID-19 perceived risk, exposure, and ideology. This effect did not extend to subjective health. These results suggest that the mere feeling of belonging to a national group may have mental health benefits and could be leveraged by governments. We discuss the implications of our findings within the social cure framework and their relevance for population mental health under COVID-19.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 998-1004
Author(s):  
Aziz H. Rad ◽  
Raana B. Fathipour ◽  
Fariba K. Bidgoli ◽  
Aslan Azizi

Background and Objectives: Tea is considered one of the most consumed drinks around the world and the health benefits of it have recently attracted the attention of different researchers. It has also been proven beneficial in preventing the danger of some diseases like cancer and cardiovascular problems. Further, lipid oxidation is one of the major problems in food products. Considering the above-mentioned issues, the present review focused on various techniques used to extract polyphenols from different kinds of tea, as well as their use in the food industry. Results and Conclusion: Based on our findings in this review, the main components of tea are polyphenols that have health benefits and include catechins, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate, gallic acid, flavonoids, flavonols, and theophlavins. From these components, catechin is regarded as the most beneficial component. Many techniques have been discovered and reformed to extract tea compounds such as solvent-based extraction, microwave-assisted water extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction techniques. Overall, the microwave-assisted water extraction method is a useful method for extracting tea polyphenols, which may be used in the meat, oil, and dairy industries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 891-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wissam Zam

Probiotics are viable microorganisms widely used for their claimed beneficial effects on the host health. A wide number of researchers proved that the intake of probiotic bacteria has numerous health benefits which created a big market of probiotic foods worldwide. The biggest challenge in the development of these products is to maintain the viability of bacterial cells during the storage of the product as well as throughout the gastrointestinal tract transit after consumption, so that the claimed health benefits can be delivered to the consumer. Different approaches have been proposed for increasing the resistance of these sensitive microorganisms, including the selection of resistant strains, incorporation of micronutrients, and most recently the use of microencapsulation techniques. Microencapsulation has resulted in enhancing the viability of these microorganisms which allows its wide use in the food industry. In this review, the most common techniques used for microencapsulation of probiotics will be presented, as well as the most usual microcapsule shell materials.


Author(s):  
A. Zimmermann ◽  
C. Visscher ◽  
M. Kaltschmitt

AbstractFructans are carbohydrates consisting of fructose monomers linked by β-2,1- and/or β-2,6-glycosidic bonds with linear or branched structure. These carbohydrates belong to the group of prebiotic dietary fibre with health-promoting potential for humans and mammals due to their indigestibility and selective stimulation of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract. This makes fructans interesting mainly for healthy food as well as animal feed applications. As a consequence of a growing public awareness for animal welfare, dietary fibre and thus fructans move into the focus as a fibre-rich feeding improving not only animals’ health but also their well-being. Against this background, this paper summarises the known effects of fructans focusing on pigs and highlights the state of the art in fructan production processes from plant material as well as selected current research lines. Additionally, an attempt is made to assess the potential of European fructan production for an application as animal feed. Based on this, challenges in the field of fructan production are addressed and alternative substrates for fructans are discussed and pointed out.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-522
Author(s):  
P Raynham

Electric light in buildings may provide some health benefits; however, for most people these benefits are likely to be small. It is possible for electric lighting to cause health problems, if there is too little light or there is glare, but for the most part there is good guidance available and these problems can be avoided. The quality of the lit environment can have a psychological impact and this may in turn impact well-being. A starting point for this is perceived adequacy of illumination. Related lighting metrics are examined and a hypothetical explanation is suggested.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089011712098328
Author(s):  
Bruce W. Sherman ◽  
Rebecca K. Kelly ◽  
Pamela Payne-Foster

Our collective experience with COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter has heightened awareness of deeply embedded racial and socioeconomic disparities in American businesses. This time, perhaps, sustained change is within reach. As organizations advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, an often overlooked focus of is the health status of employees and their families, where equitable access to high-value health benefits offerings should be available to all. This commentary provides guidance for employers to expand their DEI initiatives to include employee and family health and well-being as a central outcome measure. Employers should ensure that DEI efforts incorporate equitable benefits design, and objectively assess benefit design impact on healthcare utilization and cost. Additionally, employers must appreciate the workplace as a significant determinant of health—for lower income workers, in particular—with review of policies and practices to mitigate any discriminatory negative health or well-being impact. Further, race and ethnicity data should be incorporated in health benefits data analysis to understand more clearly the differential outcomes of health management offerings on these different sub-populations. Finally, social needs data should be incorporated into strategic benefits planning to better understand gaps and opportunities to foster greater benefits equity. The provided recommendations can support employer goals of achieving greater equity and value in workforce health, measurably contributing to business success.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Steinbrink ◽  
Rachel A. Myers ◽  
Kaiyuan Hua ◽  
Melissa D. Johnson ◽  
Jessica L. Seidelman ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Candidemia is one of the most common nosocomial bloodstream infections in the United States, causing significant morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients, but the breadth of the host response to Candida infections in human patients remains poorly defined. Methods In order to better define the host response to Candida infection at the transcriptional level, we performed RNA sequencing on serial peripheral blood samples from 48 hospitalized patients with blood cultures positive for Candida species and compared them to patients with other acute viral, bacterial, and non-infectious illnesses. Regularized multinomial regression was utilized to develop pathogen class-specific gene expression classifiers. Results Candidemia triggers a unique, robust, and conserved transcriptomic response in human hosts with 1641 genes differentially upregulated compared to healthy controls. Many of these genes corresponded to components of the immune response to fungal infection, heavily weighted toward neutrophil activation, heme biosynthesis, and T cell signaling. We developed pathogen class-specific classifiers from these unique signals capable of identifying and differentiating candidemia, viral, or bacterial infection across a variety of hosts with a high degree of accuracy (auROC 0.98 for candidemia, 0.99 for viral and bacterial infection). This classifier was validated on two separate human cohorts (auROC 0.88 for viral infection and 0.87 for bacterial infection in one cohort; auROC 0.97 in another cohort) and an in vitro model (auROC 0.94 for fungal infection, 0.96 for bacterial, and 0.90 for viral infection). Conclusions Transcriptional analysis of circulating leukocytes in patients with acute Candida infections defines novel aspects of the breadth of the human immune response during candidemia and suggests promising diagnostic approaches for simultaneously differentiating multiple types of clinical illnesses in at-risk, acutely ill patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5419
Author(s):  
Sanaz Memari ◽  
Mahdieh Pazhouhanfar ◽  
Patrik Grahn

Natural environments have been shown to promote health, and are, therefore, important for achieving social sustainability in cities. As cities grow and become denser, it is important to develop knowledge about the characteristics of natural environments that work to promote health. Perceived Sensory Dimensions (PSDs) is a tool that defines eight different cultural ecosystem services. They correspond to different human needs (rest, exercise, socialising, pleasure, or security) resulting in rehabilitation and health and well-being promotion. An experiment was conducted to study the potential of PSDs to restore people who experienced stressful accidents. One hundred and fifty-seven participants were recruited and asked first to watch a film clip of serious accidents, then to look at the pictures, depicting one particular type of PSDs, while listening to its respective audio recording. Their stress levels were measured before exposure to the stressor (baseline), after exposure to the stressor (pre-test), and after exposure to a particular type of PSDs (post-test). The results show that all eight PSDs effectively provide mental recovery, but there are statistical differences in their potentials. As such, it is proposed that the combined potential of the PSDs is needed, and should be used to increase the capacity and supply of health-promoting urban green areas.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document