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BACKGROUND: An extreme reduction of the crude protein (CP) level in diets, even balanced with amino acids (AAs), is detrimental for intestinal nitrogen (N) metabolism and the growth of pigs. This study investigated the effects of casein hydrolysate supplementation in low‐CP diets on growth performance, N balance, and intestinal N supply for pigs. A total of 24 barrows were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments of 160 g kg−1 CP (control), 130 g kg−1 CP (LAA), and 130 g kg−1 CP plus casein hydrolysate (LCH) for 28 days. RESULTS: The LCH group had a higher average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG) than the LAA group, and a higher ADG than the control (P < 0.05). Compared with the control, both the LAA and LCH decreased N intake, serum urea N, fecal N, and N excretion, and increased apparent N availability, with LCH having higher N intake and N retention than LAA group (P < 0.05). Compared with LAA, LCH increased ileal fluxes of CP and AA (P < 0.05), and with values similar to those of the control. However, ileal flows of CP and AA were similar between LCH and LAA, both of which were lower than those in the control (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Using protein hydrolysate to replace some crystalline AAs in low‐CP diets increased feed intake, N retention and ADG without affecting N utilization. These findings point to the important impact of protein hydrolysate supplementation on improving growth for pigs fed low‐CP diets. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistant starch generated after treating ordinary starch is of great significance to human health in the countries with overnutrition. However, its functional evaluation in the human body has been rarely reported. By determining the lactate metabolic flux, 12 serum enzymes expression level and 38 serum cytokines in healthy volunteers, the variation in cytokine network and lactate metabolic network in serum were investigated to compare the mechanism of the physiological effects between the two starches. The results indicated that compared with digestible starch, resistant starch had anti-inflammatory effects, increased anabolism, and decreased catabolism. Further, the intercellular communication networks including cytokine and lactate metabolic networks were mapped out. The relationship suggested that resistant starch might affect and control the secretion of cytokines to regulate lactate metabolic network in the body, promoting the development of immunometabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold storage of fruits and vegetables is essentially a respiring and metabolic network flow and control process for which the further study of metabolic control rules are needed in order to improve the shelf-life of these living food products. This study used Hami melon as a test subject to study the respiratory metabolic network and flux control of fruits and vegetables during their storage. Hami melon was stored at different temperatures (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 °C), in order to obtain the metabolic flux of the following pathways: Embden–Meyerh of pathway (EMP), pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), sucrose synthesis pathway (SSP) and TCA cycle (TCA). The quantity and activities of primary enzymes (enzymatic expression variate) were measured during storage. In addition, we got the control coefficients of synthesis flux to sucrose and metabolic flux to lactate. The results showed that sucrose had a higher synthesis flux at the temperatures of 5 °C and 45 °C, and lactate had a higher metabolic flux at the temperature of 5 °C. The study on flux control coefficients indicated that sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS, FCC = 0.424) produced a larger impact on sucrose flux control in the sucrose synthesis pathway. Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH, FCC = 0.143), triosephosphate isomerase (TPI, FCC = 0.136) and pyruvate kinase (PK, FCC = 0.136) had a large control effect on lactate flux, while glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH, FCC = −0.246) had a negative control function. These findings will enable future detailed investigation of metabolic mechanism of fruits and research of new preservatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear whether different processing methods change the biological functions of foods and how these functions are evaluated in the human body. Here, steamed bread and baked bread, the traditional staple foods in China and many Western countries, were made by steaming and baking, respectively, using one piece of fermented wheat dough and then consumed by 16 healthy young volunteers. By detecting 38 cytokines, 12 metabolic enzymes, glucose, lactate, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) in the serum, the cytokine network and central metabolic pathway network were investigated to compare the effects of the two staple foods on immunity and metabolism. Compared with steamed bread, baked bread increased (p < 0.05) concentrations of fractalkine and macrophage-derived chemokine, decreased (p < 0.05) the concentration of interleukin-1RA, increased (p < 0.05) the expression level of phosphofructokinase, and decreased (p < 0.05) the expression level of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in the serum. Two network analyses indicated that baked bread, as compared to the steamed bread, enhanced communication between immune cells, increased catabolism, and decreased anabolism. Further, a correlation analysis of cytokines and metabolic enzymes suggested that the two staple foods may affect metabolism by regulating the secretion of cytokines. These findings highlight how the same raw food material processed by different methods may have different impacts on immunity and metabolism in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]