107 results match your criteria: "Maastricht University Campus Venlo[Affiliation]"

I am better than I look: genome based safety assessment of the probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum IS-10506.

BMC Genomics

September 2023

Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI), Maastricht University - campus Venlo, Villafloraweg 1, Venlo, 5928 SZ, the Netherlands.

Background: Safety of probiotic strains that are used in human and animal trials is a prerequisite. Genome based safety assessment of probiotics has gained popularity due its cost efficiency and speed, and even became a part of national regulation on foods containing probiotics in Indonesia. However, reliability of the safety assessment based only on a full genome sequence is not clear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Child-reported vegetable neophobia is associated with risk avoidance for distaste in children aged 4-15 years.

Appetite

October 2023

Laboratory of Behavioural Gastronomy, Centre for Healthy Eating and Food Innovation, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, the Netherlands; Chair Youth, Food, and Health, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, the Netherlands.

Children who are food neophobic and/or picky eaters often refuse intake of especially fruits and vegetables, thereby narrowing their dietary variety and impairing the quality of their food intake. In this preregistered study, we investigated whether picky eating and food neophobia are related to bitter taste sensitivity (PROP taster status) and risk avoidance for distaste. A total of 367 children (201 girls; M age = 8.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Infusion of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) to the distal colon beneficially affects human substrate and energy metabolism. Here, we hypothesized that the combination of 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL) with resistant starch (RS) increases distal colonic SCFA production and improves metabolic parameters.

Methods: In this randomized, crossover study, 10 lean (BMI 20-24.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tracking new insights into antifungal and anti-mycotoxigenic properties of a biofilm forming Pediococcus pentosaceus strain isolated from grain silage.

Int J Food Microbiol

November 2023

Laboratory of Microbial Biomolecules, Department of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of São Paulo, 05508-000 São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address:

The present study offers detailed insights into the antifungal and anti-mycotoxigenic potential of a biofilm forming lactic acid bacterium (Pediococcus pentosaceus) against one atoxigenic (Aspergillus flavus) and two toxigenic (Aspergillus nomius and Fusarium verticillioides) fungal strains. The antifungal effect of P. pentosaceus LBM18 strain was initially investigated through comparative analysis of fungi physiology by macroscopic visual evaluations and scanning electron microscopy examinations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Consumer awareness of meat-associated health and environmental risks is increasing and motivates a shift toward consuming meat alternatives. This is also reflected in efforts invested in studying meat alternatives from the perspective of nutritional, environmental, and consumer sciences. Despite shared research interest, these studies cannot be readily compared and interpreted because there is no clear consensus on what meat alternatives are.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Animal agriculture has a large impact on the environment. Hence, there is an increasing demand for meat alternatives - more sustainably produced plant-based products that replace meat as meal component. Demands for meat alternatives also seem to be fuelled by consumers' belief that meat alternatives are healthier than meat products.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antibiotic exposure disturbs the developing infant gut microbiota. The capacity of the gut microbiota to recover from this disturbance (resilience) depends on the type of antibiotic. In this study, infant gut microbiota was exposed to a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate (amoxicillin/clavulanate) in an colon model (TIM-2) with fecal-derived microbiota from 1-month-old (1-M; a mixed-taxa community type) as well as 3-month-old (3-M; dominated community type) breastfed infants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Gut bacteria-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) are considered to have beneficial metabolic, anti-inflammatory as well as anti-carcinogenic effects. Previous preclinical studies indicated bidirectional interactions between gut bacteria and the chemotherapeutic capecitabine or its metabolite 5-FU. This study investigated the effect of three cycles of capecitabine on fecal SCFA and BCFA levels and their associations with tumor response, nutritional status, physical performance, chemotherapy-induced toxicity, systemic inflammation and bacterial abundances in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Investigating the survival and activity of a bacteriophage in the complex colon environment with the use of a dynamic model of the colon (TIM-2).

Microb Pathog

May 2023

Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation, Maastricht University - Campus Venlo, Villafloraweg 1, 5928 SZ, Venlo, the Netherlands; Euregional Microbiome Center, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX, Maastricht, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

The rise of antibiotic resistance poses a global problem. To avoid this, alternative therapeutic options should be explored, e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Promoting vegetable acceptance in toddlers using a contingency management program: A cluster randomised trial.

Appetite

May 2023

Chair Youth, Food & Health, Institute for Food, Health, & Safety by Design, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, the Netherlands; Laboratory of Behavioural Gastronomy, Institute for Food, Health, & Safety by Design, Maastricht University Campus Venlo, the Netherlands.

Children learn to accept novel foods by repeated exposure to these foods. In the current study, we investigated in toddlers whether a contingency management program (The Vegetable Box), comprising repeated vegetable taste exposure with contingent non-food rewards, is particularly potent at increasing recognition of and willingness to try vegetables. A total of 598 children (1-4 years old) recruited at 26 different day-care centres in the Netherlands took part.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Studying Fungal-Bacterial Relationships in the Human Gut Using an In Vitro Model (TIM-2).

J Fungi (Basel)

January 2023

Centre for Healthy Eating and Food Innovation, Maastricht University-Campus Venlo, Villafloraweg 1, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands.

The complex microbial community found in the human gut consist of members of multiple kingdoms, among which are bacteria and fungi. Microbiome research mainly focuses on the bacterial part of the microbiota, thereby neglecting interactions that can take place between bacteria and fungi. With the rise of sequencing techniques, the possibilities to study cross-kingdom relationships has expanded.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Effect of Protein Fermentation Products on Gut Health Assessed in an In Vitro Model of Human Colon (TIM-2).

Mol Nutr Food Res

May 2023

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6200MD, PO Box 616, The Netherlands.

Scope: Western type of diets are characterized by high animal protein intake and are associated with various chronic inflammatory diseases. With a higher protein consumption, excess undigested protein will reach the colon and be subsequently metabolized by gut microbiota. Depending on the type of protein, fermentation in the colon generates different metabolites with varying biological effects.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Detection of coronaviruses in insectivorous bats of Fore-Caucasus, 2021.

Sci Rep

February 2023

Agrobiotechnology Center, Faculty "Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine", Don State Technical University, Rostov-On-Don, 344000, Russia.

Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to screen for CoVs in the insectivorous bat population of the Fore-Caucasus, yielding a lower detection rate of 3.33% based on qPCR results, indicating potential regional variability in prevalence.
  • While BetaCoVs were found in the metagenomic NGS data, a deeper investigation is needed due to low RNA concentrations that hinder detailed characterization, suggesting future research should focus on enhanced metagenomic analysis for better insights.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Modelling the Gut Fungal-Community in TIM-2 with a Microbiota from Healthy Individuals.

J Fungi (Basel)

January 2023

Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation, Maastricht University-Campus Venlo, Villa Floraweg 1, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands.

Most research on the human microbiome focuses on the bacterial component, and this has led to a lack of information about the fungal component (mycobiota) and how this can influence human health, e.g., by modulation through the diet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection remains high in developing countries, especially because of geographic and socio-demographic factors. This study aimed to evaluate intestinal parasitic infection, as well as its risk factors, among children aged 36-45 months in a rural area (North Kodi) and an urban area (Kupang) of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Anthropometry, socio-demographic factors and personal hygiene practices were assessed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A systematic review of breast milk microbiota composition and the evidence for transfer to and colonisation of the infant gut.

Benef Microbes

November 2022

Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Postbus 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, the Netherlands.

The intestinal microbiota plays a major role in infant health and development. However, the role of the breastmilk microbiota in infant gut colonisation remains unclear. A systematic review was performed to evaluate the composition of the breastmilk microbiota and evidence for transfer to/colonisation of the infant gut.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Peptide-hormones, including pancreatic peptide-YY(PYY), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK), insulin, and leptin function as satiety signals, while ghrelin promotes hunger. These hormones are also involved in glucose homeostasis and body-weight regulation. The aim of this cross-sectional analysis was to examine the association of these peptide-hormones with obesity-markers, insulin-resistance, and dyslipidemia (total-cholesterol (TC), low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (TG)).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Taste changes are the third most common bothersome symptom during treatment in children with cancer. However, it is still unclear what the essence of these taste changes are, to what degree concomitant changes in sense of smell qualify this bothersome treatment symptom and how much of an impact these changes have on the life of children with cancer. The aim of this study was to explore characteristics of both taste and smell changes and to gain insight into the impact of these changes in children with cancer receiving chemotherapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chemical and nutritional characteristics, and microbial degradation of rapeseed meal recalcitrant carbohydrates: A review.

Front Nutr

September 2022

Faculty of Science and Engineering, Centre for Healthy Eating and Food Innovation, Maastricht University - Campus Venlo, Venlo, Netherlands.

Approximately 35% of rapeseed meal (RSM) dry matter (DM) are carbohydrates, half of which are water-soluble carbohydrates. The cell wall of rapeseed meal contains arabinan, galactomannan, homogalacturonan, rhamnogalacturonan I, type II arabinogalactan, glucuronoxylan, XXGG-type and XXXG-type xyloglucan, and cellulose. Glycoside hydrolases including in the degradation of RSM carbohydrates are α-L-Arabinofuranosidases (EC 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Serving larger portions leads to increased food intake, but behavioral factors that influence the magnitude of this portion size effect have not been well characterized. We investigated whether measures of eating microstructure such as eating rate and bite size moderated the portion size effect. We also explored how sensory-specific satiety (SSS; the relative hedonic decline of a food as it is eaten) was affected by eating microstructure and larger portions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study's objective was to investigate the effects of dietary Se (in the form of selenomethionine) on the antioxidant activity and selenoprotein gene expressions in layer breeder roosters. One hundred and eighty, 36-wk-old Jingfen layer breeder roosters were randomly allocated to one of 5 dietary treatments (0, 0.25, 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This clinical study explored the associations between the intestinal microbiota, chemotherapy toxicity, and treatment response in postmenopausal oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer patients.Oestrogen receptor positive postmenopausal breast cancer patients were prospectively enroled in a multicentre cohort study and treated with 4 cycles of (neo)adjuvant adriamycin, cyclophosphamide (AC) followed by 4 cycles of docetaxel (D). Patients collected a faecal sample and completed a questionnaire before treatment, during AC, during D, and after completing AC-D.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mild intermittent hypoxia exposure alters gut microbiota composition in men with overweight and obesity.

Benef Microbes

October 2022

Department of Human Biology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University Medical Center, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Results from high altitude studies in humans and controlled animal experiments suggest that hypoxia exposure induces alterations in gut microbiota composition, which may in turn affect host metabolism. However, well-controlled studies investigating the effects of normobaric hypoxia exposure on gut microbiota composition in humans are lacking. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of mild intermittent hypoxia (MIH) exposure on gut microbiota composition in men with overweight and/or obesity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Altered pharmacology and toxicology during ageing: implications for lung disease.

Curr Opin Pulm Med

July 2022

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, FHML, Maastricht University, Maastricht.

Purpose Of Review: Drug use in elderly people is high compared to younger people. Simultaneously, elderly are at greater risk when exposed to environmental substances. It is puzzling therefore, that ageing, as a variable in pharmacological and toxicological processes is not investigated in more depth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF