Project description:It has been proposed that endogenously formed N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) are partly responsible for the link between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. As nitrite has been indicated as one of the critical factors in the formation of endogenous NOCs, it is of high importance to replace or reduce the nitrite levels in meat. Therefore, the PHYTOME project was initiated (Phytochemicals to reduce nitrite in meat products; www.phytome.eu), an EU funded research project aiming to develop innovative meat products in which the food additive sodium nitrite (E251) has been replaced by natural compounds originating from fruits and vegetables. A human dietary intervention study was conducted in which healthy subjects consumed 300 grams of meat for two weeks, in subsequent order: normal processed red meat, white meat, and red processed meat with standard or reduced levels of nitrite and added phytochemicals. Consumption of standard-nitrite PHYTOME meat products leads to a significant reduction in Apparent Total N-nitroso Compounds (ATNC) levels in faecal water, a surrogate marker of endogenously formed NOCs, as compared to the consumption of conventional processed red meat products. A reduction of nitrite in the PHYTOME meat lowered these levels even further. In addition, DNA strand breaks induced in ex-vivo faecal water exposed Caco-2 cells and O6-methyl-guanine adducts levels in colonic DNA were significantly higher after consumption of normal processed red meat as compared to white meat intake. PHYTOME meat intake resulted in reduced levels of these genotoxic markers, however, these were not statistically significant. Whole genome gene expression analyses in colonic tissue identified differentially expressed genes and genes associated with ATNC, which are related to molecular pathways which may explain cancer risk initiation after intake of processed red meat and cancer risk prevention after intake of the PHYTOME meat. Together these results indicate that addition of natural extracts to conventional processed red meat products results in reduced endogenous formation of NOCs, and may therefore contribute to a reduced risk of CRC, which is mechanistically supported by gene expression analyses.
Project description:Mania is a serious neuropsychiatric condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have suggested that environmental exposures can contribute to mania pathogenesis. We measured dietary exposures in a cohort of individuals with mania and other psychiatric disorders as well as in control individual without a psychiatric disorder. We found that a history of eating nitrated dry cured meat, but not other meat or fish products, was strongly and independently associated with current mania (adjusted odds ratio 3.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.24-5.45, p<8.97x 10-8). Lower odds of association were found between eating nitrated dry cured meat and other psychiatric disorders. We further found that the feeding of meat preparations with added nitrate to rats resulted in alterations in behavior and changes in intestinal microbiota. Rats fed diets with added nitrate also showed alterations of brain pathways dysregulated in mania. These findings may lead to new methods for preventing mania and for developing novel therapeutic interventions
Project description:The enterohemorrhagic Escherichia (E.) coli (EHEC) is a pathogen of great concern for public health and the meat industry all over the world. High economic losses in meat industry and the high cost of the illness evidence the necessity of additional efforts to control this pathogen. Previous studies demonstrated inhibitory activity towards EHEC, of a bioprotective strain, Enterococcus mundtii CRL35, it showing also a specific proteomic response during the co-culture. In the present work additional studies of the EHEC-Ent. mundtii interaction were carried out: i) differential protein expression of E. coli O157:H7 NCTC12900 when growing in co-culture with Enterococcus mundtii in a meat environment, ii) the reciprocal influence between these two microorganisms in the adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and iii) the possible induction of the phage W933, coding for Shiga toxin (Stx1), by the presence of Ent. mundtii CRL35. When compared the co-culture with individual growth, proteomic results showed significant repression of E. coli NCTC12900 proteins related mostly to the metabolism and transport of amino acids and nucleotides. However, statistically significant over expression of EHEC proteins involved in stress, energy production, amino acid metabolism and transcription was observed at 30 h respect to 6 h when EHEC grew in co-culture. On the other hand, EHEC showed a decreased adhesion capacity to ECM proteins in the presence of the bioprotective strain. Finally, Ent. mundtii CRL35 did not induce the lytic cycle of W933 bacteriophage, thus indicating its potential safe use for eliminating this pathogen. Overall, this study expands the knowledge of EHEC- Ent. mundtii CRL35 interaction in a meat environment, as an attempt to find out effective biological strategies to eliminate this pathogen.