Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Brief summary of minutes of the W5122 Multistate group annual meeting:

Thursday, October 12, 2023:

9:00 - 9:20 AM – Dr. Chris A. Pritsos, Director of Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station and W5122 lead administrator provided opening remarks and a presentation on the origin and organization of US Land Grant Institutions and Agricultural Experiment Stations, an update on NIFA/USDA Funding and resources including distribution of Hatch funds and the Multistate Research Funds Impacts website:  www.mrfimpact.org. 

Research update presentations (15 min presentation + 10-15 min Q&A and discussion)

9:30 - 10:00 AM:  Nancy D. Turner from Michigan State University provided a research update on Diet Induced Perturbations in Distal Colon Microbiome and Metabolome Occur in Parallel with a Reduction in Early Colon Lesions. Identified higher Riboflavin likely increased by Prevotelaceae_Prevotella, which may be protective against colon cancer risk.

10:00 - 10:30 AM:  Rachel Kopec from The Ohio State University provided a research update on her work leveraging state-of-the-art metabolite ID and multi-omic analyses with novel food processing techniques, specifically use of moderate electric field (MEF) exposure to sterilize food and increase bioavailability of organic (porphyrin-bound) iron and other heat-labile nutrients.

10:45 - 11:15 AM:  Jacques Izard from the University of Nebraska Medical Center provided a research update on his work investigating Short Chain Fatty Acids Production Along the Digestive Tract, their impacts on inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis, and specifically how bioavailability of polyphenols is impacted by ostomy surgery (surgical removal intestinal sections) often performed as treatment for these and other intestinal diseases.

11:15 - 11:45 AM: Susan Tilton from Oregon State University provided a research update on her research on the utilization of an Organotypic Airway Model to Assess Role of Phytochemicals in Respiratory Disease. Specifically, how environmentally-relevant concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in cigarette smoke and other inhaled toxins are metabolized and impact lung tissue and carcinogenicity.

11:45 - 12:15 PM: Pratibha Nerurkar from the University of Hawaii provided a research update on her research on benefits of fermented foods via impacts on the gut microbiota and inflammatory state/immunomodulation, specifically the impacts of Kimchi – a Korean food made from fermented cabbage.

12:15 -1:15 PM: Siva Kolluri from Oregon State University provided a research update on his work investigating the anti-cancer effects of bioactive food components that impact aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR)-mediated pathways to regulate anti-cancer functions. (virtual)

1:30 - 2:00 PM: Tiffany Weir from Colorado State University provided a research update on her work examining Microbial Pathways of Polyphenol Metabolism in the Human Gut for Impacts on Polyphenol Bioavailability following consumption of blueberry extracts in post-menopausal women with above normal blood pressure.

2:00 - 2:30 PM: Bill Helferich from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provided historical perspective on 30 years of work by x-122 group members from soy to bacon on breast cancer growth and progression, then discussed his research on thermally abused frying oil on cancer risk via promoting metastasis and tumor angiogenesis. 

2:30 - 3:00 PM: Chi Chen from the University of Minnesota presented an update on his investigation of the metabolism and bioactivity of the protein fermentation product p-cresol, noting general products (e.g., SCFAs, amines) and “special” products (indoles, phenols from AAA/p-cresol) that have antioxidant and possibly antidiabetic effects, while p-cresol sulfate is a uremic toxin.

3:15 - 3:45 PM: Adam Chicco from Colorado State University discussed a recent study that investigated the impact of Dietary Soybean Oil with and without Fish Oil on Serum PUFA Status of Malnourished Infants in Kenya, concluding that supplemental fish oil was not necessary to restore long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid status if adequate essential fatty acids (linoleic and linoleic acid) were provided as a soya blend.

3:45 - 4:15 PM: Efren Delgado from New Mexico State University discussed his research on optimizing methods for jujube microencapulation using cottonseed meal protein isolate as a carrier to supply polyphenolic compounds, which has demonstrated improved efficiency of encapsulation over the standard maltodextrin encapsulation approach. These retain higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity in vitro. Work demonstrates valuable use of cottonseed meal as an agro-industrial by-product contacting high protein concertation that can be used for functional foods and aquaculture feed.

4:15 - 4:45 PM: Hongbing Fan from University of Kentucky discussed his plans as a new faculty member at University of Kentucky Animal and Food Sciences Department to initiate new project investigating food-derived antihypertensive peptides – including chicken egg tripeptide on BP in SHR, perhaps by increasing activity of ACE2 activity, favoring BP reduction and less activity of ACE1 and classic RAAS hypertensive signaling. Also discussed new exploratory project investigating plant-based meat analogs as a source of bioactive peptides via peptidomics.

4:45 -5:15 PM Kaustav Majumder from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln discussed his work investigating how gamma-glutamyl peptides impact vascular inflammatory signaling through CasR, reduction of adhesion molecules and cytokines, and perhaps via altering the gut microbiome to reduce atherosclerotic lesions and macrophage infiltration into atherosclerotic plaques in mice.

6:30-9 PM: Group Dinner and Business Meeting at the Calistoga Inn, discussing ongoing and new collaboration opportunities and plans for W5122 group activities in 2024.   

Discussion of new and emerging collaborative projects and initiatives

• Dr. Weir is serving as a guest editor for two microbiome Frontiers journals special topic review series (Frontiers in Nutrition and Frontiers in Microbiome), to which at least 2 members plan to contribute. Other interested members should contact Tiffany for more information.
• Various potential and ongoing research collaborations and shared interests were discussed based on research reports presented during the meeting, which we hope will promote continued productivity and interactions within our group and our institutions.
• Discussed limiting member research updates to 2-3 slides demonstrating major advances and capabilities of their research to facilitate more interaction and discussion of collaboration potential at the next annual meeting.
• Voted to hold next annual meeting in Calistoga or perhaps Lake Tahoe region in 2024, perhaps moving to Corvallis in 2025 to facilitate in-person participation from multiple group members at Oregon State University.

Activities/Accomplishments:

Objective 1: Examine the effects of phytochemicals and other dietary components on gut microbiota and intestinal function.

W5122 researchers in Michigan (Turner) demonstrated beneficial changes in the colon microbiota of rats when a dried plum puree was included in the diet.  Changes in the microbiome occurring with development of colon cancer observed in rats consuming a polyphenol free diet are mitigated by inclusion of the dried plum puree in the diet.  Alterations in the microbiota also contributed to modifications in the fecal metabolome, and several compounds endogenous to plums were discovered in the luminal metabolome and microbial metabolites that were affected by the diet and disease state.  Several of the compounds present in rats consuming the dried plum puree diet have been shown to suppress proliferation and enhance apoptosis, to be involved in IL-10 signaling, as well as being important in cancer or tumor morphology.  Further analyses linking the microbiota with the metabolomics results indicated there is an association between 4 of the microbiota and the levels of riboflavin in the colon, and luminal riboflavin may suppress colon cancer.  These studies indicate that consuming bioactive compounds at levels obtainable with foods can enhance protection against intestinal disease, and that the benefit is partly derived through their effects on colonic microbiota and metabolic byproducts.  Changes in the microbial metabolome are associated with multiple pathways involved in inflammation and tumorigenesis

W5122 researchers in Nebraska (Izard) investigated the biological consequences of ostomy, a life-saving surgery for severe gastrointestinal and medical conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, colitis, and colorectal cancer. However, many ostomates experience physical and emotional distress which significantly reduces their quality of life due to mechanisms that are not well understood. Over the past 12 months. Dr. Izard analyzed the concentrations of 8 short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and lactic acid of ileostomy, colostomy, and control groups using LC-MS/MS. Results revealed the drastic change in concentrations of eight tested SCFAs and elevated lactic acid concentrations in ileostomates, but not in colostomates, compared to the control. Analyses of diet and symptom was also performed across the groups. This study provides valuable data for identifying biomarkers for future treatment and improving management of daily life for ostomates and can be expended to the general population.

W5122 researchers in Indiana (Verma), in collaboration with Materials Science Engineers, has developed a sampling capsule that can collect intestinal contents from various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. They administered these capsules to pigs and demonstrated that they are able to collect samples from the small intestine or the large intestine, then compared the contents of the capsule to the contents of the sections of the gastrointestinal tract and highlighted that the microbiome composition is similar to the expected section. Thus, they confirmed the novel smart capsule performs well in vivo. The development of this capsule will help support future characterization of the microbiome across the gastrointestinal tract in healthy people and in people suffering from intestinal diseases, as well as help track the effects of various dietary components on the gut microbiome.

W5122 researchers in Oregon (Tilton) investigated how the gut microbiota contributes to macrophage-mediated inflammation in adipose tissue with consumption of an obesogenic diet, thus driving the development of metabolic syndrome. There is a need to identify and develop interventions that abrogate this condition. The hops-derived prenylated flavonoid xanthohumol (XN) and its semi-synthetic derivative tetrahydroxanthohumol (TXN) attenuate high-fat diet-induced obesity, hepatosteatosis, and metabolic syndrome in C57Bl/6J mice. This coincides with a decrease in pro-inflammatory gene expression in the gut and adipose tissue, together with alterations in the gut microbiota and bile acid composition. We integrated and interrogated multi-omics data from different organs with fecal 16S rRNA sequences and systemic metabolic phenotypic data using a Transkingdom Network Analysis. Findings establish an important mechanism by which TXN mitigates adverse phenotypic outcomes of diet-induced obesity and metabolic syndrome.

W5122 researchers in Colorado (Weir) have continued to examine both the effects of diet and direct microbiota modification (ie. probiotics) on intestinal and vascular health in both pre-clinical animal models and human clinical trials. In addition, Dr. Weir has begun to examine whether/how the microbiota influences individualized responses to phytochemical (specifically polyphenol) interventions. Their labs approach includes metagenomic sequencing of microbiomes from polyphenol intervention trials to look for carbohydrate degrading enzymes (CAZymes) that convert polyphenols to aglycone forms and also polyphenol metabolic pathways that can alter or degrade polyphenol compounds thought to be responsible for bioactivity. Understanding these interactions is critical to a deeper understanding of variability in “exposure” to bioactives from food and how they may be predictive of variations in response to diet interventions.

W5122 researchers in California (Marco) continued their research examining the functional properties of microorganisms in fermented foods and digestive tract. Using dietary intake data and health biomarkers in the NHANES database, they showed that consuming, non-harmful (commensal) live microbes is modestly associated with reduced cardiometabolic disease risk. Fermented foods containing live microbes (such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and unpasteurized sauerkrauts) are the greatest contributors of live microbes in human diets. Lactic acid bacteria are essential to many food fermentations and are the most abundant microbes in those foods. They showed that exogenous quinones induce a hybrid metabolism resembling fermentation and respiration in the lactic acid bacteria species, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. L. plantarum, a prominent microbe in food fermentations and for which certain strains are used as probiotics, can use quinones made by other lactic acid bacteria for this metabolism. Lastly, they showed that dietary resistant starch affects intestinal and bodily responses to L. plantarum intake, and vice versa. Synergistic, antagonistic, and additive effects were found on the gut microbiota, intestinal epithelium, and intestinal, serum, liver, and urinary microbiomes. In summary, fermented foods with live microbes are a major source of dietary microbes associated with good cardiovascular health. Lactobacilli in fermented foods perform diverse metabolisms that may be harnessed to improve fermentation performance. Habitual diet, and dietary fibers in particular, may affect the functionality of probiotics and other dietary live microbes to improve health.

W5122 researchers in Indiana (Verma) continued their research in collaboration with colleagues from Materials Science Engineering to develop a sampling capsule that can collect intestinal contents from various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. They administered these capsules to pigs and demonstrated that they are able to collect samples from the small intestine or the large intestine, then compared the contents of the capsule to the contents of the sections of the gastrointestinal tract to highlight that the microbiome composition is similar to the expected section. Thus, the smart capsule performs well in vivo. The development of this capsule can help support future characterization of the microbiome across the gastrointestinal tract in healthy people and in people suffering from intestinal diseases. It can also help track the effects of various dietary components on the microbiome.

Objective 2: Identify cellular mechanisms and molecular targets of beneficial or adverse dietary components that influence human health.

W5122 researcher in Connecticut (Chun) examined the effects of Blackcurrants on cardiovascular health among women in menopause transition. Previous cell and animal studies suggest that blackcurrant (BC; Ribes nigrum) can be a potential dietary agent that may mitigate oxidative stress and inflammation and improve dyslipidemia, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to examine the effects of the supplementation of BC anthocyanin (ACN) extract on CVD risk in healthy adult women in menopause transition and investigate the underlying mechanisms. The effects of BC ACN supplementation on blood pressure, anthropometrics, fasting blood lipids and biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation were evaluated using clinical, anthropometric measures and blood samples collected from a 3-arm, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in peri- and early postmenopausal women. Thirty-eight peri- and early postmenopausal women aged 45-60 years were randomly assigned into one of three treatment groups for six months: placebo (control group), 392 mg/day BC powder (low-BC group) and 784 mg/day BC powder (high-BC group). The significance of differences in outcome variables was tested by repeated-measures ANOVA with treatment and time as between- and within-subject factors, respectively. Overall, BC supplementation decreased fasting plasma triglycerides (TG), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) compared to the control group (P < 0.05) without changes in body composition. The 6-month change in oxidized LDL was inversely correlated with 6-month change in catalase and ABTS (P < 0.05) while 6-month C-reactive protein (CRP) change was positively correlated with 6-month change in TG and IL-1β (P < 0.01). These findings suggest that daily BC consumption for six months may mitigate the risk of CVD, potentially through improving dyslipidemia, inflammation and lipid peroxidation and through antioxidant properties. Further studies of larger samples and population with higher risk for CVD are warranted to confirm these findings.

W5122 researchers in Oregon (Tilton) completed studies examining the potential for supplementation with Brussels sprouts (BS) or 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) to alter plasma levels of the environmental pollutant BaB and its metabolites over a 48-h period following micro-dosing with 50 ng (5.4 nCi) [14C]-BaP, likely by delaying BaP absorption. Although the number of subjects and large interindividual variation are limitations of this study, it represents the first human trial showing dietary intervention altering toxicokinetics of a defined dose of a known human carcinogen.

W5122 researchers in Oregon (Tilton) completed studies utilizing primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) cultured in 3D at the air-liquid interface (ALI) as a physiologically relevant model to evaluate the effects of inflammation on toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a class of contaminants generated from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Normal HBEC were differentiated in the presence of IL-13 for 14 days to induce a profibrotic phenotype similar to asthma. Cells were evaluated for cytotoxicity, barrier integrity, and transcriptional biomarkers of chemical metabolism and inflammation by quantitative PCR.  Cells with the IL-13 phenotype treated with BAP result in significantly (p<0.05) decreased barrier integrity, less than 50% compared to normal cells.  Interaction of BAP in the IL-13 phenotype was more apparent when evaluating transcriptional biomarkers of barrier integrity in addition to markers of mucus production, goblet cell hyperplasia, type 2 asthmatic inflammation and chemical metabolism, which all resulted in dose-dependent changes (p<0.05) in the presence of BAP. These data are the first to evaluate the role of combined environmental factors associated with inflammation from pre-existing disease and PAH exposure on pulmonary toxicity in a physiologically relevant human in vitro model.

W5122 researchers in Oregon (Tilton) in collaboration with the FDA, the US EPA, and the NIH to procure chemicals for toxicity testing, generated a diverse chemical library of consumer products, food additives, industrial chemicals, pesticides, drugs, and chemical mixtures for which society has little or no safety information. As the project evolves, they will conduct RNA sequencing experiments to measure changes in the gene expression networks that the toxic chemicals provoke, and formulate hypotheses about which biomolecular targets the chemicals attacked initially and which pathways led to the observed endpoint. To test these hypotheses, they will edit the zebrafish genome via CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out or over-express critical genes, then repeat the exposures.

W5122 researcher in Nebraska (Majumder) is examining the efficacy of dietary iso-peptides (γ-glutamyl peptide: γ-EV) in inhibiting vascular inflammation, atherosclerosis, and associated chronic metabolic disorders like type-2 diabetes. Study with atherosclerotic-prone male Apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE-/-) mice with high fat diet (HFD: 40 kcal% fat, 1.25% cholesterol) showed that intervention of γ-EV reduces plaque development in the aorta, reduces vascular inflammation by reducing the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and LOX-1, reduced macrophage infiltration and inflammation in the atherosclerotic plaques (MOMA-2) in the aortic root, reduced expression of cytokine TNF-α and chemokine MCP-1 in the plasma. γ-EV can be detected (5.26mM) in blood plasma after oral administration, however, an estimated 60% of the ingested γ-EV remain unabsorbed and reach the colon intact, where they can possibly interact with the gut microbiota. 16s sequencing of the cecum content data showed increase the abundance of Akkermansia and decrease the abundance of Dubosiella after γ-EV intervention. qPCR testing further identified that γ-EV enrich the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila in the cecum content.

W5122 researchers in Colorado (Chicco) published a study demonstrating the impacts of dietary fatty acid intake during pregnancy on fetal development and metabolism using a novel ovine model of maternal-fetal metabolic programming. Studies demonstrated that elevated consumption of saturated fatty acids (~25% kcal intake) promoted skeletal muscle insulin resistance and enhanced uptake and oxidation of fatty acids in mid-term fetuses, consistent with findings from murine and non-human primate models. Additional studies established that supplementing 2% algae-derived DHA to the diet of pregnant ewes crosses the maternal rumen and placenta to enrich fetal tissue DHA levels. This was associated with complex shifts in the expression of fatty acid transporters on the placenta and fetal tissues that may impact nutrient metabolism during development and early neonatal life.  Taken together, these studies are the first to validate use of an ovine model for investigating the impact of maternal dietary fatty acid supplementation on fetal metabolism and development.

W5122 researchers in Colorado (Chicco) worked in collaboration with groups from the University of Texas and the Kenya Medical Research Institute a study that investigated the effect of Corn Soy Blend plus Vegetable Oil (CSB-VO) supplements with or without Fish Oil (FO) on serum omega-3 fatty acids status and immunological patterns in Kenyan children aged 9 to 24 months with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). Results demonstrated that children with MAM are significantly deficient in n3-PUFA measured by serum PLs, but not RBC PLs, and that 12 weeks of the current Kenyan standard of care supplement (CSB + VO) effectively normalizes serum PUFA status and reduces inflammatory markers. Supplemental FO provides little discernible benefit above that of CSB + VO on PUFA status, inflammation or clinical outcomes, indicating that MAM children are capable of converting dietary 18:3n3 into long chin-n3-PUFA, but are likely substrate limited without intervention.  Therefore, MAM children do not require pre-formed DHA or other LC-n3-PUFA to maintain a healthy serum n3/n6 ratio (VO is sufficient), though we cannot discount that higher or longer-duration FO supplementation might augment DHA enrichment and/or arachidonic displacement in serum and tissues.

Objective 3: Explore the interaction between dietary components and the host metabolome and epigenome.

W5122 researchers in Minnesota (Chen) examined lipid oxidation products-elicited metabolic changes in gastrointestinal digesta after feeding oxidized soybean oil to nursery pigs. Consumption of fried food by humans and feeding recycled cooking oils to animals introduce significant amount of primary lipid oxidation products (LOPs), such as peroxidized fatty acids, and secondary LOPs, mainly lipidic aldehydes, into their gastrointestinal tracts (GIT), but the metabolic fates of those LOPs and their metabolic interactions with dietary components in the GIT are poorly understood. In the current study, oxidized lipids-elicited metabolic changes in the GIT were characterized by a nursery pig feeding trial and comprehensive metabolomic and biochemical analyses. Compared to soybean oil (CSO), Oxidized soybean oil (OSO) prepared by exposure to frying temperatures compromised the growth performance of nursery pigs in both weight gain and feed intake. OSO elevated the concentrations of lipidic aldehydes in all segments of the GI tract, especially nonanal, hexanal, and pentanal in cecum and colon. This observation was correlated with the increases of carbonylated protein in digesta. Besides direct influences of aldehydes, OSO decreased free amino acids and elastase activity in the small intestine and decreased short-chain fatty acids and bile acids in the large intestine. These results indicated that extensive influences of OSO on the digesta metabolome in the GI tract were caused by both direct contribution of LOPs and the metabolic interactions of LOPs with proteins, digestive enzymes, and microbiota. These observations provide insights into the metabolic fates of lipidic aldehydes and subsequent disruptions of nutrient and microbial metabolism and chemical environment in the GIT.

W5122 researchers in Minnesota (Chen) also examined the temporal pattern of p-cresol production in infants, a microbial degradation product of the amino acid tyrosine. Previous studies have implicated p-cresol in multiple pathological events, including cytotoxicity in renal and cardiovascular systems and autistic symptoms in children. However, there is a paucity of information on p-cresol production in infants whose gut microbiomes are under development for producing functional metabolites. Methods: Total 250 fecal samples were collected from 138 healthy infants born at full-term at the ages of 1, 4, 12, and 24 weeks. The concentrations of p-cresol, HPAA, tyrosine, and other free amino acids were determined by dansyl chloride-based chemical derivatization and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomic analysis. Results: Fecal concentrations of many free amino acids continuously increased from week 1 to 24 while the lowest concentrations of tyrosine were observed at week 4. Using ≥0.02 in HPAA/tyrosine and p-cresol/tyrosine ratios (2% conversion rate) as the cut-off value for tyrosine degradation activities, the formation of HPAA was detected in 21%, 28%, 41%, and 59% of infants at week 1, 4, 12, and 24, respectively, while p-cresol production only occurred in 0%, 6 %, 7%, and 17% of infants at week 1, 4, 12, and 24, respectively. Conclusions: All these observations show the gradual development of microbial tyrosine degradation activity, especially the reaction from HPAA to p-cresol, in infants, and warrant further investigation on the colonization of microbial species responsible for these reactions in early life.

W5122 researchers in Colorado (Weir) are beginning to correlate metagenomic data of gut microbiomes with plasma metabolites to gain a deeper understanding of how the microbiome influences bioavailability and exposure to beneficial phytochemicals. Complementary experiments in germ free mice and those with human-associated gut microbes are being used to identify metabolites that directly result from microbial metabolism interactions.

Objective 4: Determine how food processing influences chemical composition to affect human health.

W5122 researchers in New Mexico (Delgado) investigated how rapid detection of food-borne pathogens is a critical first step to abating health risks associated with food-borne pathogens. Together with the College of Engineering we tested a novel rapid detection platform based on fluorescence imaging that combines a user-friendly, portable loop mediated iso-thermal amplification (LAMP) reaction device and a smartphone-based detection system. We demonstrated that this platform was able to detect and quantify LAMP assay samples containing three different concentrations of Staphylococcus aureus from 109 CFU/mL down to 103 CFU/mL. S. aureus is one of the most important food-borne pathogens especially in dairy products and causes a wide range of clinical infection.

W5122 researcher in Hawaii (Nerukar) provided evidence that the beneficial effects of fermentation on food chemical composition and positive influence on human health. In Hawaii, minority populations such as Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) have more than twice the rate of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes (T2D), as compared to Caucasians and more than five times as likely to die from T2D. Current therapies for obesity are complicated due to factors including an inability to maintain long-term weight loss and drug-drug interactions. In addition, conventional therapies may not be affordable, suitable and/or acceptable for culturally sensitive minority populations. There is a growing awareness and mounting body of scientific evidence, that successful implementation of strategies to control T2D among ethnic minorities will require culturally appropriate interventions.  Recent studies indicate the beneficial effects of fermentation on food chemical composition and positive influence on human health. Our studies have identified the influence of raw ingredients on health beneficial bacteria and corresponding metabolites in fermented foods such as kimchi.

W5122 researchers in Minnesota (Chen) examined protein and lipid oxidation in soybean meals, a premier source of protein for feeding production animals. Protein oxidation negatively affects the nutritional value of SBM, but its causative associations with soybean oil extraction methods and non-protein components in SBM were not well examined. In the current study, 40 solvent extracted SBMs (SSBM) and 8 mechanically extracted SBMs (MSBM) collected from different commercial producers and geographic locations were profiled by chemometric analysis. The results showed that the extraction methods led to diverse differences between SSBM and MSBM. In gross composition, SSBM had greater crude protein, ash, moisture, and water activity while MSBM had greater crude fat and crude fiber. In protein oxidation, MSBM had greater protein carbonyl contents than SSBM (9.2 vs 5.2 mmol/kg protein, p<0.0001). In lipid oxidation, MSBM also had greater p-anisidine values than SSBM (1.25 vs 0.48, p<0.001), and more lipidic aldehydes, including 2-hexenal, 2-heptenal, 2,4-heptadienal, octanal, 2-octenal, 2-decenal, and nonanal. In antioxidant status, SSBM had greater Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) than MSBM (25.0 vs 23.6 µmol/g, p<0.0001), which was in consistent with the total phenolics content (1.17 vs 0.86 mg caffeic acid equivalent/g, p<0.0001) and the total content of isoflavones, including genistin, genistein, daidzin, and daidzein (2147.0 vs 1481.8 µg/g, p<0.0001). Interestingly, MSBM had greater contents of tocopherols, including alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, than MSBM due to higher residual oil content. Pearson correlation analysis showed that protein carbonyl content was positively correlated with the p-anisidine value and total aldehydes, but inversely correlated with the TEAC value. Among antioxidants, total phenolics and isoflavones contents had inverse correlations with protein carbonyl content, total aldehydes, and p-anisidine value, respectively. Overall, extraction methods significantly affected gross composition, oxidation, and antioxidant status of SBMs. Lipidic aldehydes and phenolic antioxidants play counteracting roles in the oxidation of soy protein.

W5122 researchers in Minnesota (Chen) examined the metabolic fate of deoxynivalenol in nursery pigs. Chronic exposure of deoxynivalenol (DON), a common trichothecene mycotoxin in corn and cereal grains, compromises feed intake, growth, immune response, and reproduction of production animals.  Chemical derivatization of DON through sulfonation has been developed as a mitigation approach to reduce the bioavailability of DON in animal feeds, but the exact impacts of sulfonation on the biotransformation and excretion of DON in animals were not well characterized. In this study, a total 48 nursery pigs were fed 4 experimental diets containing 1.2 ppm or 4.1 ppm DON with or without 0.25% NoTox™ Ultimate D additive, a sulfite-based sulfonation agent, for 21 days. DON metabolites in urine and fecal samples were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The results showed that DON was completely metabolized in nursey pigs as it was not detected in urine and fecal samples. The sulfite additive led to the formation of three DON sulfonate (DONS) metabolites, and increased deepoxy-deoxynivalenol (DOM), a microbial metabolite of DON, in feces. In urine, sulfonation decreased DON-3-glucuronide and DON-15-glucuronide but increased DOM-3-glucuronide and DOM15-glucuronide. Overall, sulfonation decreased the absorption of free DON in nursery pigs, making it more available for gut microbes to form DOM, an inert metabolite, for excretion.

Grants awards (new and ongoing): 

W5122 members and their labs were awarded over $18M in new grants during the 2022-23 period in addition to over $26M in continuing grant funding to study effects of bioactive nutrients on cancer, diabetes, fetal programming by maternal diet, gut health, and cardiovascular risk. Major awards support research from our group from this reporting period are listed below.

Plans for 2024:

W5122 researchers in Michigan (Turner) will finalize the analyses of the plum results comparing the effects in the proximal vs distal colon, continuing their project to explore the impact of baking on the chemopreventive capacity of sorghum, and will be resubmitting a NIH proposal to determine the impact of bioactives derived from dried beans on colon cancer.

W5122 researcher in Nebraska (Izard) will further analyze the complexity of the interaction of the stool postbiotics with the clinical data acquired during the study of individuals with digestive resection, and investigate the role of the microbiota in this interaction in conjunction with diet.

W5122 researchers in Indiana (Verma) plans on characterizing the gastrointestinal tract of the pigs in higher resolution to highlight the microbiome-metabolite relationships.

W5122 researchers in Minnesota (Chen) will continue examining metabolic events associated with the exposure of oxidized lipids, bile acids, and phytochemicals; and will expand their chemometric analysis of oxidized soybean products and phenolic extracts after chemical and physical treatments.

W5122 researchers in Colorado (Weir) aim to identify gut microbial metabotypes that predict polyphenol metabolism in the human gut and may aid in predicting individual differences in response to dietary interventions.

W5122 researchers in California (Marco) plan to perform new studies investigating how fermented foods, and the microorganisms they contain, can improve intestinal health.

W5122 researchers in Oregon (Tilton, Tanguay, Maier, Kolluri) will continue with studies on the adverse effects of dietary components and environmental toxicants on human health. 

W5122 researchers in Connecticut (Chun) will conduct microbial analysis and metabolomics analysis to elucidate mechanisms of action for blackcurrant and CVD prevention related to lipid modification, oxidative stress and inflammation such bile acids, sterols, enterolactone, protocatechuic acid, gallic acid.

W5122 researchers in Nebraska (Majumder) will expand the scope of their research by examining a broader range of dietary γ-glutamyl peptide variants. Through rigorous in-vitro experimentation, we seek to discern the nuanced effects and potential benefits associated with these diverse peptides, aiming to enhance our understanding of their individual and collective efficacies. Additionally, this study will delve into the specific involvement of Akkermansia and Dubosiella, unraveling their roles in the context of γ-glutamyl peptides. By elucidating the intricate interplay between these gut microbes and the peptides, we aspire to gain valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the observed efficacy, paving the way for more targeted and informed interventions in the future.

W5122 researchers in Colorado (Chicco) will utilized a novel mouse model to examine the tissue-specific role of the FADS2 gene linked to cardiometabolic risk in humans on nutrient metabolism. They also plan to publish findings from their ovine model studies on DHA supplementation, and further develop ongoing collaboration with other W5122 members.

W5122 researcher in Hawaii (Nerukar) will continue to explore the health-beneficial compounds of traditional fermented Hawaiian foods and further evaluate how food processing impacts their effects on obesity and glucose metabolism.

W5122 researchers in New Mexico (Delgado) plans to work with the mill industry to develop a mathematical model to be used as a Distribution table in the milling process.

There were 71 new publications by W5122 members in 2022-2023 period, addressing the effects of bioactive nutrients on health and chronic disease risk, basic insights into nutrient metabolism, and the development of new methodology and technologies for studying these processes in humans and novel model systems.  Publications are listed below with W5122 group members in boldfaced text.

1. Pratibha V Nerurkar*, Jennifer Yokoyama^a, Kramer Ichimura^a , Shannon Kutscher^a, Jamie Wong^a, Harry C Bittenbender, Youping Deng. Medium Roasting and Brewing Methods Differentially Modulate Global Metabolites, Lipids, Biogenic Amines, Minerals, and Antioxidant Capacity of Hawai'i-Grown Coffee (Coffea arabica). Metabolites, 2023 Mar 10;13(3):412. doi: 10.3390/metabo13030412.
2. Gallegos-Ibanez, D, Jurado-Molina, J, Wedwitschka, H, Delgado E, Nelles, M.; Stinner, W. 2023. Ensiling of invasive Elodea sp., a novel aquatic biomass feedstock for the sustainable biogas production: effects of wheat straw and silage additives on silage quality and methane production. ACS Agricultural Science & Technology, DOI: 10.1021/acsagscitech.3c00043. 
3. Sapkota G, Delgado E, VanLeeuwen DF. Holguin OF, Flores N, Yao S. 2023. Preservation of Phenols, Antioxidant Activity, and Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate in Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Fruits with Different Drying Methods. MDPI – Plants 12, 1804. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091804.
4. Rodriguez Borbon, MI, Sohn, H, Delgado E, Fuqua, DO, Rodríguez Medina, A, Tlapa, D, Baez Lopez, Y. 2023. Shelf-Life Assessment on European Cucumber based on Accelerated Temperature-Humidity Stresses. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 2663. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13042663.
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