Food intake

Successful reproduction is strictly linked to metabolic cues. The orexins are a family of hypothalamic neurohormones, well known for their key role in the control of food intake and the involvement in several aspects of the reproductive process. The biological actions of both orexins are carried out through binding to the related Orexin 1 (OX1R) and Orexin 2 (OX2R) G-protein-coupled receptors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of orexin system components in the porcine ovaries, to contribute to expand the knowledge about their pleiotropic role...

In mammals, insulin regulates blood glucose levels and plays a key regulatory role in appetite via the hypothalamus. In contrast, chickens are characterized by atypical glucose homeostasis, with relatively high blood glucose levels, reduced glucose sensitivity of pancreatic beta cells, and large resistance to exogenous insulin. The aim of the present study was to investigate in chickens the effects of 5 h fasting and 5 h insulin immuno-neutralization on hypothalamic mRNA levels of 23 genes associated with food intake, energy balance, and glucose metabolism...

There is a paucity of evidence to guide clinicians about appropriate management strategies for people with obesity and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We have recently published results from the first weight loss intervention in adults (>18 years) with obesity (body mass index; BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) and COPD, using a low-calorie diet coupled with a partial meal replacement plan and resistance exercise training, which resulted in a 6.4% reduction in weight while maintaining skeletal muscle mass and improving health status...

Levels of most VOCs in foods are usually low because of their volatility, and human exposure to VOCs is expected to be mainly via inhalation of ambient and indoor air. However, dietary exposures to VOCs can be significant to overall exposures if elevated concentrations of VOCs are present in foods consumed in high amounts and/or on a regular basis, and this was demonstrated in this study with the occurrence data of toluene from the recent 2014 Canadian Total Diet Study (TDS). Concentrations of toluene in the composite samples of most food types from the 2014 TDS are low and similar to the results from the previous 2007 TDS with some exceptions, such as beef steak (670 ng/g (2014 TDS) vs...

Use of glyphosate in crop production can lead to residues of the active substance and related metabolites in food. Glyphosate has never been considered acutely toxic; however in 2015 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) proposed an acute reference dose (ARfD). This differs from the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) who in 2016, in line with their existing position, concluded that an ARfD was not necessary for glyphosate. This paper makes a comprehensive assessment of short-term dietary exposure to glyphosate from potentially-treated crops grown in the EU and imported third country food sources...

Lycopene is the red pigment in tomatoes and tomato products and is an important dietary carotenoid found in the human organism. Lycopene-isomers, oxidative lycopene metabolites and apo-lycopenoids are found in the food matrix. Lycopene intake derived from tomato consumption is associated with alteration of lipid metabolism and a lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Lycopene is mainly described as a potent antioxidant but novel studies are shifting towards its metabolites and their capacity to mediate nuclear receptor signalling...

Titanium dioxide is a metal oxide used as a white pigment in many food categories, including confectionery. Due to differences in the mass fraction of nanoparticles contained in TiO2, the estimated intakes of TiO2 nanoparticles differ by a factor of 10 in the literature. To resolve this problem, a better estimation of the mass of nanoparticles present in food products is needed. In this study, we focused our efforts on chewing gum, which is one of the food products contributing most to the intake of TiO2. The coatings of four kinds of chewing gum, where the presence of TiO2 was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, were extracted in aqueous phases...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review examines the food addiction model and the role of food hedonic pathways in the pathogenesis and treatment of obesity. RECENT FINDINGS: The hedonic pathway interacts with the obesogenic environment to override homeostatic mechanisms to cause increase in body weight. Weight gain sustained over time leads to "upward setting" of defended level of body-fat mass. There are neurobiological and phenotypic similarities and differences between hedonic pathways triggered by food compared with other addictive substances, and the entity of food addiction remains controversial...

The health risks of mercury exposure due to the high consumption of aquatic were assessed for fishermen and non-fishermen families living on the Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Mahshahr cities located in the coast of Persian Gulf (Iran). The mean hair mercury concentration of people in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Mahshahr cities was obtained 1.56 ± 0.17, 1.97 ± 0.22, and 5.12 ± 0.3 μg g(-1), respectively. Hair mercury concentration in 8.8% of people exceeded the no observed adverse effects level (NOAEL) of 10 μg g(-1) declared by the World Health Organization (WHO)...

The clinical development of the first generation of globally active cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) antagonists was suspended because of their adverse neuropsychiatric effects. Selective blockade of peripheral CB1Rs has the potential to provide a viable strategy for the treatment of severe obesity while avoiding these central nervous system side effects. In the current study, a novel compound (TXX-522) was rationally designed based on the parent nucleus of a classical CB1R-selective antagonist/inverse agonist, rimonabant (SR141716A)...

The beneficial effect of dietary soy food intake, especially for women diagnosed with breast cancer, is controversial, as in vitro data has shown that the soy isoflavones genistein and daidzein may even stimulate the proliferation of estrogen-receptor alpha positive (ERα+) breast cancer cells at low concentrations. As genistein and daidzein are known to inhibit key enzymes in the steroid metabolism pathway, and thus may influence levels of active estrogens, we investigated the impacts of genistein and daidzein on the formation of estrogen metabolites, namely 17β-estradiol (E2), 17β-estradiol-3-(β-D-glucuronide) (E2-G), 17β-estradiol-3-sulfate (E2-S) and estrone-3-sulfate (E1-S) in estrogen-dependent ERα+ MCF-7 cells...

The peptide cholecystokinin (CCK) plays an important role in the regulation of vertebrate appetite and feeding behaviour. In the present study, the full-length cDNA and genomic DNA sequences of two CCK precursors were cloned and analysed in the Syngnathidae fish, the lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus). Both CCK1 and CCK2 in the seahorse consist of four exons. The sequence of the octapeptide of seahorse CCK1 (DYMGWMDF) was the same as that of the chicken and human, while the octapeptide of seahorse CCK2 (DYEGWMDF) was unique among vertebrates...

Offspring of parents with exceptional longevity (OPEL) manifest lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the role of lifestyle factors in this unique cohort is not known. Our study tested whether OPEL have lesser prevalence of CVD independent of lifestyle factors. Prevalence of CVD and CVD risk factors was assessed in a population of community-dwelling Ashkenazi Jewish adults aged 65 to 94 years. Participants included OPEL (n = 395), defined as having at least 1 parent living past the age of 95 years, and offspring of parents with usual survival (OPUS, n = 450), defined as having neither parent survive to 95 years...

Out of the 430 known solute carriers (SLC) in humans, 30% are still orphan transporters regarding structure, distribution or function. Approximately one third of all SLCs belong to the evolutionary conserved and functionally diverse Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS). Here, we studied the orphan proteins, MFSD4A and MFSD9, which are atypical SLCs of MFS type. Hidden Markov Models were used to identify orthologues in several vertebrates, and human MFSD4A and MFSD9 share high sequence identity with their identified orthologues...

Community planners such as policymakers and health care and nutrition service providers can create an "age-friendly" environment to support healthy eating in older residents by addressing the highest priorities that enable older adults to improve their dietary intake through different food-related community settings. To identify and prioritize these factors that facilitate behavioral change (enablers) and behavioral settings important for older adult nutrition based on the social ecological model, nutrition and aging professionals (n = 30) from two rural (West Virginia, Iowa) and two urban (Massachusetts, New York) city/county regions (communities) participated in an online or live focus group discussion and completed an analytic hierarchy process survey online...

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin is a key drug in lung cancer therapy. However, cisplatin is also well known to induce gastrointestinal disorders, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, anorexia, and weight loss. These symptoms sometimes affect patients' quality of life and make continuation of chemotherapy difficult. Anorexia is a cause of concern for patients with cancer because a persistent loss of appetite progresses to cancer cachexia. Although evidence-based management for chemotherapy has recently been established, there is room for improvement...

BACKGROUND: Studies of genes that play an important role in the development of obesity are needed, especially studies focusing on genes that regulate food intake and affect nutrient metabolism. For example, the beta-3 adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) responds to noradrenaline and mediates lipolysis in adipocytes. METHODS: This was a controlled intervention study involving 40 overweight and obese adult women in which food intake, anthropometric measurements, biochemical analyses, and methylation levels of the ADRB3 gene were evaluated before and after intervention...

Recently, worldwide dietary reference intakes have been considered an important guideline for public health. Some governments and the World Health Organization (WHO) provide guidelines concerning dietary intake. Although an ingredient may have a history of use as a culinary material, changes in the environment over time suggest that the acceptable maximum intake each of food/culinary material should be regularly evaluated. Arctium lappa L. has been used as a culinary material for many centuries in Korea and Japan and some recent studies have reported related therapeutic effects...

In search of metabolically regulated secreted proteins, we conducted a microarray study comparing gene expression in major metabolic tissues of fed and fasted ob/ob mice and C57BL/6 mice. The array used in this study included probes for ~4000 genes annotated as potential secreted proteins. Circulating macrophage inhibitory cytokine 1 (MIC-1)/growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) concentrations were increased in obese mice, rats, and humans in comparison to age-matched lean controls. Adeno-associated virus-mediated overexpression of GDF15 and recombinant GDF15 treatments reduced food intake and body weight and improved metabolic profiles in various metabolic disease models in mice, rats, and obese cynomolgus monkeys...

To assess the existence of central amino acid sensing systems in fish we carried out two experiments in rainbow trout. In the first one, we injected ICV two different branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), leucine and valine, and assessed food intake up to 48 h later. Leucine decreased and valine increased food intake. In a second experiment, 6h after similar ICV treatment we determined changes in parameters related to putative amino acid sensing systems. Amino acid sensing systems respond to leucine in hypothalamus and telencephalon, and to valine in telencephalon...