Dietary nutrition and gut microflora: A promising target for treating diseases

BackgroundThe human gastrointestinal tract harbors hundreds of millions of microorganisms, which create a unique environment for each individual. The relationship between gut microflora and human health is being increasingly recognized, and the influence of gut microbiota on the host is well characterized, including maintenance of the body's energy metabolism and immune system. Gut microbiota have been found to be closely linked to obesity, allergy, diabetes, cancer or even some mental diseases. Diet can strongly affect human health, partly by modulating gut microbial composition and quantity.Scope and ApproachIn this review, the relationship between diseases and gut microbes and the effect of different dietary components on gut microflora are summarized. This paper mainly focused on how different diet structure such as high intake of dietary fiber, fat, protein and alcohol etc. may exert impact on specific diseases via gut microflora.Key findings and conclusionsSpecific diseases can be strongly affected by gut microflora and dietary nutrition plays an important role in affecting the composition of gut microflora for individuals since their birth. A bridge between diets and multiple diseases via gut microbiota is built in this review, hopefully to provide references for further investigation of how the diets affect human health via gut microflora and for development of functional foods targeting on gut microflora to solve some health problems.     

Effect of microwave heating on the low-salt gel from silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) surimi

Gels from silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) surimi were obtained using microwave (MW) heating (15 W/g power intensity for 20–80 s) at different levels of salt (0 g/100 g, 1 g/100 g, or 2 g/100 g). And the gel heated by MW was compared with the gel obtained by conventional water-bath heating (85 °C for 30 min). The gel strength increased when the salt level was increased. The mechanical and functional properties of non-salted, low-salt and regular-salt products were improved by MW heating for 60 s and 80 s, significantly (p < 0.05), except for the cook loss. The content of TCA-soluble peptides indicated that the MW heating inhibited the autolysis of proteins significantly (p < 0.05) during gelling. The SDS-PAGE and total content of –SH group proved that MW enhanced the cross-linking of proteins effectively through disulphide bonds and non-disulphide covalent bonds. The microstructure of the samples revealed that a fine compact network, with particles of protein aggregates, was formed in the low-salt gels (1 g/100 g) heated by MW for 60 s. All of these properties might be responsible for the formation of a superior textural low-salt gel induced by MW.     

油茶果蒲与聚丙烯共热解特性及动力学分析

为了研究油茶果蒲(CS)与聚丙烯(PP)混合比例(质量比)对两者共热解特性及动力学参数的影响,将CS与PP按不同比例(3∶7、 5∶5和7∶3)混合,分别在5、 10、 15和20℃/min的升温速率下,由50℃升温至800℃进行热重实验及动力学分析。热重实验结果表明：混合样品的共热解可以分为两个阶段,当温度低于352℃时,在混合样品热解中CS热解占主导作用,混合样品中的PP促进了CS的热解;温度高于352℃时,PP的热解占主导作用,CS对PP热解起抑制作用。动力学分析结果表明：FWO法适合CS与PP单独热解及共热解动力学分析,m(CS)∶m(PP)为3∶7的混合样品平均表观活化能(217.04 kJ/mol)最低,相比于CS单独热解的平均表观活化能(474.94 kJ/mol)降低了54.3%。