Food & Function最新文献

{"title":"Gut microbiota modulation and inflammation mitigation in a murine model through a hull-less and purple grain barley genotype†","authors":"María-Engracia Cortijo-Alfonso, Houda Laghouaouta, Ramona N. Pena, Mariona Martínez, Silvia Yuste, Laura Rubió-Piqué and Carme Piñol-Felis","doi":"10.1039/D4FO05524A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO05524A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Barley, increasingly recognized for its health benefits, contains bioactive compounds like beta-glucans and (poly)phenols. Newly developed purple barley varieties, enriched with anthocyanins, offer potential gut health benefits. This study examined the effects of a hull-less, purple-grain barley genotype, consumed as whole-grain or isolated fractions (bran and endosperm), on gut microbiota and inflammation in a murine model. Fifty male and female BALB/cB&amp;J mice were assigned to five diets over six weeks: standard diet (SD), rice diet (RD), whole-grain barley (WGB), anthocyanin-rich barley bran (BB), and beta-glucan-rich endosperm (PG). The BB diet triggered anti-inflammatory signals as it reduced IFN-γ and IL-4 in females, lowered TNF-α in both sexes, and decreased C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in males compared to SD. The PG diet improved gut barrier integrity by lowering LPS-binding protein levels. Barley-based diets enhanced gut microbiota diversity, particularly, by increasing beneficial bacteria like <em>Lactobacillus</em>, <em>Lachnospiraceae UCG-001</em>, and <em>Akkermansia</em>. Notably, BB and PG elicited stronger effects than WGB, suggesting that grain fractionation modifies the food matrix, potentially enhancing the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of key bioactive compounds. These results underscore the benefits of purple barley-derived fractions in promoting gut health and reducing inflammation, supporting their potential role to protect against inflammation-related conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 6","pages":" 2389-2400"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fo/d4fo05524a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143490168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparative study on the protein digestion of four different soy beverages: effects of the composition, microstructure, and protein digestibility evaluation method†","authors":"Junna Zhao, Xiangzhen Kong, Caimeng Zhang, Yufei Hua, Yeming Chen and Xingfei Li","doi":"10.1039/D4FO03919J","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO03919J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The increased consumption of soy-based products leads to the incentive for more sustainable soybean processing and more accurate nutritional evaluation. The protein structures and aggregation states of different components vary with different soy products, but their relationship with digestibility is unclear. In order to study the digestion of soy protein in complex food matrices, four soy-based beverages were carefully prepared, including whole component soy beverage (WS), soy beverage with insoluble soybean residue removed (DO-WS), soy beverage with lipids removed (DL-WS), and soy protein isolate beverage (HSPI). During digestion, the microstructure revealed that particles of all soy beverages were reduced and more evenly distributed, but striated fibres (in WS and DL-WS) still remained after digestion. Tricine-SDS-PAGE profiles showed that after <em>in vitro</em> gastrointestinal digestion of the four beverages, almost all the bands corresponding to the complete proteins from soy disappeared, leaving fewer visible bands with a low MW – below 12 kDa. <em>In vitro</em> protein digestibility analyzed by TCA precipitation (strategy B), which ranged from 64.24% to 68.70%, was more accurate, with peptides of MW &lt;1 kDa accounting for over 84% for all the four digested fractions. Moreover, the highest values of <em>in vitro</em> DIAAS (96/80) and digestible protein (29.40/24.41 g per 100 g of soybeans) were achieved by WS. Characterization of the insoluble digesta further elucidated that peptides with a smaller MW (below 12 kDa) and a higher amount of hydrophobic amino acids aggregated more easily, resulting in the occurrence of precipitates and the relatively lower <em>in vitro</em> protein digestibility. This research contributes to the understanding of protein digestibility in whole legume-based diets, which in turn could aid in the development of new whole legume products and more efficient utilization of proteins.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 6","pages":" 2262-2278"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143539678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of 3D-printed foods incorporating riboflavin-loaded whey protein isolate nanostructures: characterization and in vitro digestion†","authors":"João F. Araújo, Jean-Michel Fernandes, Daniel Madalena, Raquel F. S. Gonçalves, Jorge M. Vieira, Joana T. Martins, António A. Vicente and Ana C. Pinheiro","doi":"10.1039/D4FO05102E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO05102E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >3D printing has emerged as a groundbreaking technology, aiming to enhance sensory attributes and improving nutritional/functional aspects. Simultaneously, nano-delivery systems have emerged as an opportunity to protect bioactive compounds against degradation and improve their bioaccessibility. Therefore, a novel concept is underway, involving the 3D printing of perishable healthy foods previously fortified with bioactive compound-loaded nanostructures. As a model concept, whey protein isolate (WPI) nanostructures were associated with riboflavin with an efficiency of 59.2%. Carrot pastes with adequate printability, shape retention and rheological characteristics were formulated. Riboflavin-WPI loaded nanostructures were incorporated into carrot inks and submitted to a static <em>in vitro</em> digestion. There was a notable increase in riboflavin bioaccessibility (+23.1%), suggesting a synergistic interaction between WPI nanostructures and carrot matrix. These results may contribute to validating the use of WPI nanostructures as effective encapsulating systems allied with 3D food printing towards the development of functional foods with personalized structure and nutrition profile.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 5","pages":" 2124-2135"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fo/d4fo05102e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143456368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grape pomace extract attenuates high fat diet-induced endotoxemia and liver steatosis in mice†","authors":"V. Muscia Saez, D. J. Perdicaro, E. Cremonini, V. V. Costantino, A. R. Fontana, P. I. Oteiza and M. A. Vazquez Prieto","doi":"10.1039/D4FO06332E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO06332E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Obesity is a prominent global health concern associated with chronic inflammation and metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Excessive consumption of saturated fats exacerbates these conditions by increasing intestinal barrier permeability and circulating endotoxins. This study aims to investigate, in a murine model of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, the potential beneficial effects of a grape pomace extract (GPE), rich in phenolic compounds, at mitigating endotoxemia, and liver steatosis. Underlying mechanisms were characterized in an <em>in vitro</em> model of intestinal inflammation and permeabilization, as induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in Caco-2 cell monolayers. Consumption of a HFD (60% calories from fat) for 13 weeks induced obesity, insulin resistance, and liver damage, evidenced by higher levels of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT), hepatic triglycerides content, and steatosis. In addition, HFD caused metabolic endotoxemia, hepatic toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) upregulation and inflammation. GPE supplementation significantly reduced body weight and subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue weight, and attenuated metabolic dysregulation. Furthermore, GPE decreased circulating LPS levels and mitigated HFD-mediated hepatic TLR4 upregulation, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation, and downstream expression of proteins involved in oxidative stress and inflammation (NOX4, TNFα, and F4/80). In Caco-2 cells, GPE mitigated TNFα-induced monolayer permeabilization, decreased tight junction (TJ) protein levels, enhanced cellular oxidant production, activated redox-sensitive signaling, <em>i.e.</em>, NF-κB and ERK1/2, and increased NOX1 and MLCK mRNA levels, the latter being a key regulator of monolayer permeability. The above findings suggest that GPE may protect against HFD-induced obesity and associated metabolic dysfunction (insulin resistance and NAFLD) by modulating intestinal barrier integrity and related endotoxemia.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 6","pages":" 2515-2529"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143539694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Irradiation alters the structure and reduces the sensitization of sesame proteins in the liquid state†","authors":"Xintong Yang, Tian Yu, Yunpeng Shen, Hui Liu, Youdou Cheng, Ruoyan Dai, Dongxia Yan, Jinyan Gao, Hongbing Chen and Yong Wu","doi":"10.1039/D4FO05355A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO05355A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Irradiation is extensively utilized in food processing as an effective and convenient method. At present, numerous studies have investigated the potential of irradiation to reduce food allergenicity. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of irradiation treatment on the structure and allergenicity of liquid and solid sesame proteins. Sesame protein extracts and lyophilized powders were irradiated at doses of 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 kGy, respectively. The effects of irradiation on sesame proteins were investigated by CD spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, indirect competitive ELISA, western blot and degranulation experiments on KU812 cells. The experimental results demonstrated that irradiation had a more pronounced effect on liquid sesame proteins. Irradiation altered the secondary structure and increased the surface hydrophobicity, with the α-helix content decreasing from 14.27% to 13.53% and the β-sheet content increasing from 33.91% to 39.53%. Additionally, protein aggregation resulted in a reduction of free sulfhydryl groups. Following irradiation, the IC50 value obtained by indirect competitive ELISA increased from 0.695 μg mL<small>⁻¹</small> to 18.546 μg mL<small>⁻¹</small>, while the release of cellular β-Hex and IL-6 was reduced, indicating that irradiation diminished the IgE binding capacity of liquid sesame proteins and their ability to induce cell degranulation. Western blotting results corroborated the findings from the ELISA assay. In conclusion, irradiation modifies the structure and reduces the potential allergenicity of liquid sesame proteins.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 6","pages":" 2474-2486"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143522103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the modulatory effects of Pu-erh tea on the gut microbiota in ameliorating hyperuricemia induced by circadian rhythm disruption†","authors":"Sibo Zhao, Hongli Cao, Fanwei Sun, Mianhong Xu, Xinghua Wang, Jielin Jiang, Liyong Luo and Liang Zeng","doi":"10.1039/D4FO05659K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO05659K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Circadian rhythm disruption (CRD) can induce a variety of metabolic disorders. Our previous laboratory studies have shown that Pu-erh tea could alleviate CRD-induced syndromes, including obesity, intestinal dysfunction, and tryptophan metabolism disorders. However, its potential protective mechanism against CRD-induced hyperuricaemia remains unclear. In this work, we found that polyphenols of Pu-erh tea were significantly released in the stage of intestinal digestion, which might promote their interaction with gut microbes. Through animal experiments, C57BL6/J mice were given water or different doses of Pu-erh tea for 60 days, followed by a 90-day CRD, the lifestyle of modern individuals who frequently stay up late. Our results indicated that CRD mice exhibited high serum uric acid levels and gut microbiota disorders. Pu-erh tea intake significantly reshaped the gut microbiome, especially increasing the abundance of <em>Bifidobacterium</em>, <em>Akkermansia</em> and <em>Faecalibaculum</em>, and increased the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), especially acetic acid, which restored the function of the intestinal barrier. This improvement further regulated oxidative stress pathways (NRF2/HO-1), reduced systemic inflammatory response (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α), restored hepatic function (SOD, MOD, CAT, and GSH) and modulated the activity of enzymes related to UA metabolism in the liver (XOD and ADA). Finally, Pu-erh tea intake promoted the excretion of UA and reduced the levels of UA and xanthine in the serum. Moreover, the results of antibiotic experiments showed that the UA improvement effect of Pu-erh tea depended on the existence of the gut microbiota. Collectively, Pu-erh tea intake has the potential to prevent CRD-induced hyperuricaemia by reshaping the gut microbiota.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 7","pages":" 2669-2686"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143539698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative effects of different sugar substitutes: Mogroside V, stevioside, sucralose, and erythritol on intestinal health in a type 2 diabetes mellitus mouse†","authors":"Huaxue Huang, Sha Liu, Zhi Peng, Bin Wang, Shuang Zhan, Sirui Huang, Wei Li, Dai Liu, Xiulian Yang, Yizhun Zhu and Wenjun Xiao","doi":"10.1039/D4FO04446K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO04446K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Intestinal health disorders significantly contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Sugar substitutes such as mogroside V (MOG), stevioside (ST), sucralose (TGS), and erythritol (ERT), are increasingly used in T2DM management as alternatives to sucrose (SUC). However, their effects on intestinal health in T2DM have not been fully compared. In the present study, we established a T2DM mouse model using a high-fat diet and streptozotocin injection. These mice were treated with equal doses of SUC, MOG, ST, TGS, or ERT for 4 weeks to evaluate the effects of these sugar substitutes on intestinal health in T2DM. T2DM mice exhibited increased intestinal permeability, reduced goblet cell numbers, elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, and alterations in both gut microbiota and metabolite composition. After 4 weeks of treatment, MOG showed the most significant benefits. MOG activates the PI3K/AKT pathway, enhancing the expression of tight junction proteins, which improves intestinal barrier function and reduces permeability. This is accompanied by NF-κB inhibition, leading to reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production and increased mucus secretion. These changes help maintain healthy gut microbiota and metabolites, preventing pathogenic bacteria from entering the bloodstream. ST downregulates NF-κB to alleviate intestinal inflammation and improves gut microbiota and metabolic homeostasis in T2DM. ERT has less beneficial effects. TGS and SUC reduce intestinal inflammation and have a better effect on the duodenum. However, TGS has a negative effect on the colon microbiota and metabolites, whereas SUC has a negative effect on the colon microbiota alone. MOG improved intestinal health in T2DM by modulating the PI3K/AKT and NF-κB pathways, whereas ST primarily modulated NF-κB to alleviate intestinal inflammation. Both treatments were effective, with MOG showing the best performance. Therefore, MOG can be considered a viable alternative to SUC for T2DM management.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 5","pages":" 2108-2123"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143447329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of long-term moderate red wine consumption in CD1 female mice","authors":"Emilia Garcia-Moruno, Ana-Belén Blázquez, Nereida Jiménez de Oya, Ana Esteban, Silvia Motta, Antonella Costantini, Pedro J. Sánchez-Cordón, Eva Pericuesta, Miguel A. Martín-Acebes, Alfonso Gutiérrez-Adán and Juan-Carlos Saiz","doi":"10.1039/D5FO00435G","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5FO00435G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In the early 80s, the so-called “French paradox” was proposed, that is, a correlation between wine consumption, a diet rich in fats, and low mortality from coronary disease. Conversely, it is well established that excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of cirrhosis and cancer, but few studies have investigated the effects of moderate alcohol consumption. However, all these conclusions were derived from epidemiological population studies that may be subject to distortions due to multiple factors. Here, the effect of moderate consumption of red wine on health throughout life was examined in a murine model. Different variables were evaluated in groups of female animals that were fed a standard or a fat diet throughout their adult life and given water, or wine or alcohol diluted in water in proportions similar to what is considered moderate consumption in humans. Our results showed few differences in most of the analyzed variables (body weight, liver profile and survival rate) between the different female mouse groups. The most remarkable findings were observed in the fat-diet groups that showed more frequent and severe liver lesions and a lower average ovarian weight. Moreover, moderate and prolonged ethanol consumption significantly affected telomere length only when the diet was high in fat, whereas wine consumption showed no difference compared to water, pointing to a possible predominant role of the compounds, particularly polyphenols present in wine. On the other hand, wine-drinking mice fed a fat diet had more oocytes than those in the ethanol-drinking group. Overall, our data suggest that long-term moderate red wine consumption does not substantially influence the health of female mice.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 7","pages":" 2656-2668"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fo/d5fo00435g?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143536172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Indian lychee honey ameliorates hepatic glucose uptake by regulating the ChREBP/Glut4 axis under insulin-resistant conditions†","authors":"Chandrachur Ghosh, Tathagata Kundu, Tiyasa Pathak, Saakshi Saini, Neeladrisingha Das, Surendra Saini, Debabrata Sircar, Prabhat Kumar and Partha Roy","doi":"10.1039/D4FO03900A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO03900A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Many traditional treatments include honey owing to its magnificent health beneficiary effects. Recent studies have demonstrated the potent anti-diabetic activity of honey. However, its actual mechanism of action remains elusive. Moreover, being rich in sugar (75%–80%), its role in maintaining glucose homeostasis remains questionable. Although the polyphenol content of honey aids its hypoglycaemic activity, the small quantity of bioactive compounds in honey (0.5%–1.0%) may not be solely responsible for this. In the current study, an attempt was made to understand the role of Indian lychee honey (LyH) in regulating blood glucose levels under diabetic conditions. This study investigated whether LyH, although rich in sugars, can be used as an alternative to regulate glucose and lipid homeostasis under insulin-resistant conditions by regulating the ChREBP/Glut4 signalling pathway. This study was first performed <em>in vitro</em> in palmitic acid-induced insulin-resistant HepG2 cells. Various assays, such as FACS, GCMS, qRT-PCR, immunoblot and ChIP-qPCR, were performed to establish the anti-hyperglycaemic role of LyH <em>in vitro</em>. The <em>in vitro</em> results were subsequently confirmed <em>in vivo</em> using a high-fat diet-induced diabetic C57BL/6 mice model. The <em>in vivo</em> study was supported by several experiments, such as examining blood parameters, histopathology, double-immunohistochemistry and ELISA. Finally, the finding was validated by comparing it with a couple of GEO datasets from the NCBI database. This study found that LyH is an excellent choice for regulating blood sugar levels under diabetic conditions without significant harmful side effects. Moreover, LyH showed excellent hepatic glucose uptake activity in an insulin-independent manner. This activity is mainly governed by sugars as its main ingredient. LyH treatment also regulates hepatic lipid homeostasis by maintaining a balance between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells. Further, sugar, when supplemented individually, caused severe inflammation, which was validated through histopathology, ELISA and IHC. Collectively, the findings of this study indicate that Indian LyH provides a better food matrix (the right proportion of sugars and different bioactive compounds), which significantly improves hyperglycemia and inflammation under diabetic conditions by regulating the hepatic ChREBP/Glut4 axis.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 5","pages":" 2031-2056"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143439290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From in silico screening to in vivo validation in zebrafish – a framework for reeling in the right psychobiotics†","authors":"Benjamin Valderrama, Isabelle Daly, Eoin Gunnigle, Kenneth J. O'Riordan, Maciej Chichlowski, Sagarika Banerjee, Alicja A. Skowronski, Neeraj Pandey, John F. Cryan, Gerard Clarke and Jatin Nagpal","doi":"10.1039/D4FO03932G","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4FO03932G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The potential of gut bacteria to interact with the nervous system is now well known. Therefore, the characterization of bacterial strains that can modulate signalling pathways of the nervous system is a topic of growing interest, as it represents a potential alternative therapeutic target to treat central nervous system disorders. However, a streamlined screening framework is required to guide the rational identification and selection of such bacteria, known as psychobiotics. In this work, we introduce a framework that integrates <em>in silico</em>, <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em> approaches to identify psychobiotic candidates capable of both metabolising prebiotics of interest and producing neuroactive molecules. To prove the effectiveness of the approach, we characterized a bacterial strain, <em>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</em> APC2688, for its capacity to modulate the GABAergic system and alter the stress-related behaviour of zebrafish larvae. In brief, <em>in silico</em> analyses of the genomic content of APC2688 identified it as capable of degrading different prebiotics and producing neuroactive compounds known to modulate the stress response in animal models. Then, <em>in vitro</em> results confirmed the ability of this strain to produce GABA, tryptophan and acetate, while growing with the candidate prebiotics of interest, fructooligosaccharides (FOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and inositol. <em>In vivo</em> experiments demonstrated that the administration of bacterial supernatants induced changes in the expression of <em>gad1</em> and <em>gabra1</em> in zebrafish larvae, two essential genes in the GABAergic signalling pathway, and altered the anxiety-like behaviour of the larvae. These results highlight the efficiency of our framework in integrating orthogonal approaches to discover and characterise bacteria capable of modulating the microbiome–gut–brain axis.</p>","PeriodicalId":77,"journal":{"name":"Food & Function","volume":" 5","pages":" 2018-2030"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/fo/d4fo03932g?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143439359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}