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PubMed2006

[Functional food and bioavailability in the target organ skin].

Reactive free radicals can be produced in the skin by the action of environmental factors, such as sun radiation and toxins. These radicals can damage the DNA, proteins and lipids of the living cells. The consequences can be skin aging, immune suppression and even skin cancer. Humans have developed a protective mechanism against the action of free radicals in the form of antioxidant substances. Several of these antioxidants cannot be produced by humans and have to be acquired via food, such as carotenoids. Optical, non-invasive methods, like resonance Raman spectroscopy, allow a qualitative and quantitative online detection of the kinetics of antioxidants such as carotenoids in the skin. By employing this method it has been shown that the uptake of carotenoids in food can lead to an accumulation in the skin. On the other hand, stress, illness and UV-radiation can reduce the concentration of antioxidant substances in the skin. A high concentration of antioxidant substances is protective and associated with a reduction in skin wrinkling.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed2000

Probiotic Therapy and Functional Foods for Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections: State of the Art and Science.

In the past year, interest has heightened in the potential for probiotics to prevent urinary tract infection (UTI). Mainly, this has been due to concerns about antibiotic resistance and recognition of the scientific efficacy of probiotics. The critical factors in any successful application of probiotics to patient care are the scientific basis for selecting probiotic strains and clinical verification that they are effective against the recurrence of UTI. Three strains--Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus fermentum B-54 and RC-14--have been shown to colonize the vagina and act as a barrier to the ascension of uropathogens into the bladder. Their ability to produce growth and adhesion antagonists against urogenital pathogens is clinically important, because these appear to be important mechanisms of action. Probiotic therapy has been shown to be safe, but too few reliable products are on the market, and none are yet available for use against UTI. Given the right strains and delivery system, probiotic therapy could provide the first new UTI-prevention system in 40 years, and may help in the management of recurrent UTI.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Hedonic ratings and perceived healthiness in experimental functional food choices.

The associations of liking and perceived healthiness ratings between repeated food choices were studied in two experiments. Participants' snack bar (n=41, Experiment I) and beverage (n=60, Experiment II) choices among six product alternatives were monitored for 4 and 3 weeks, respectively. In Experiment I, participants were allowed to familiarise themselves with snack bar alternatives ("familiar assortment") prior to making choices. In Experiment II, the participants started making their beverage choices without familiarising themselves ("unfamiliar assortment"). In both experiments, the participants were divided into three groups according to their choice behaviour for each alternative: non-interested (0 choices), experimenters (1 choice) and potential frequent users (2 or more choices). In Experiment I, the overall difference between non-interested and potential frequent users of a product was 1.3 points in expected liking and 2.6 points in actual liking on a 7-point scale (ANOVA, p<0.001). In Experiment II, the overall differences in blind hedonic ratings between non-interested participants and potential frequent users of a product were within a range of 0.9 points (p<0.001). The difference was wider for expected liking ratings, 1.3 points (p<0.001). Neither the perceived healthiness of the samples nor the background attitudes could be consistently associated with the choices (Pearson's correlation coefficient).

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Nutritional claims for functional foods and supplements.

Food labels are an important educational tool to assist consumers in making healthy food choices. In addition to mandatory nutritional labeling information, manufacturers have a variety of options on the food/supplement packages to communicate the nutrition/health benefits of their products. This paper describes the different types of claims that can be made for foods and supplements.

Dietary Supplements↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Potential functional foods in the traditional Maori diet.

The Maori people were early New Zealand settlers of Polynesian descent. The incidence of non-infectious diseases appears to have been low in these people, perhaps in part due to the presence of protective chemical constituents within their food plant supply. Three of the tropical crops they introduced are still eaten here today: the sweet potato or kumara (Ipomoea batatas), the taro (Colocasia esculenta) and the cabbage tree or ti (Cordyline terminalis). Sporamins A and B, the major storage proteins of kumara tubers, act as proteinase inhibitors, and may have other anti-cancer properties. The tubers also contain the anti-coagulant coumarins, scopoletin, aesculetin, and umbelliferone. The corms of taro contain the anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-glucoside, pelargonidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rhamnoside, reported to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Anthocyanins are also major components of a so-called "Maori potato", a variety officially known as Ureniki, which has a purple skin and flesh and was widely eaten in the early 1900s. Anthocyanins are also present in ripe berries of the ramarama (Lophomyrtus bullata) and rohutu (Neomyrtus pedunculata). Both the leaves and seeds of the introduced cabbage tree (Cordyline terminalis) and the native Cordyline spp., C. australis, C. indivisa, and C. pumilo, were eaten. The seeds of C. australis, of some Astelia spp., and of hinau (Elaeocarpus dentatus) are good sources of various essential fatty acids, generally regarded as protective against cardiovascular disease. Shoots and leaves from a wide range of native species were traditionally eaten as greens, especially "sow thistle" or puha (Sonchus spp.), reportedly high in Vitamin C and various phenolics. "New Zealand spinach" (Tetragonia tetragonioides or T. expansa) has anti-ulcerogenic activity that has been traced to two cerebrosides and anti-inflammatory activity that has been traced to novel water-soluble polysaccharides, as well as antioxidant phenylpropanoids including caffeic acid. Leaves of the "hen and chickens" fern (Asplenium bulbiferum) contain antioxidant flavonoids such as kaempferol glucosides. Native seaweeds also have useful nutritive properties.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1999

Functional foods.

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Dietary Supplements↗