Many see nutrigenomics as the future of nutrition. Nutrigenomics is the science that defines how food and nutrients ingested influence the genome. Ever since nutrigenomics has become an important subject of study among scientists, many food companies and pharmaceutical companies are taking huge efforts on utilizing the knowledge of such science to create customized and fortified products for specific individuals or group of individuals with their unique genetic makeup as the primary basis.
In a new nutrigenomics research, scientists discovered that a certain supplement having nutrients chosen for their anti-inflammatory properties may result to significant metabolic alterations in overweight people. In an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a supplement of green tea extract, resveratrol, fish oil, vitamins C and E and lycopene-rich tomato extract caused some alterations to genes linked to inflammation, oxidation of fat in the liver, and health condition of blood vessel.
The said supplement was also correlated with a 7 percent increment in levels of adiponectin, a kind of protein hormone associated with various metabolic processes, and levels are conversely related to body fat levels. The research team headed by Gertruud Bakker from TNO Quality of Life explained that the approach they used enabled them to detect multiple subtle health effects of a combination of dietary components in relatively healthy overweight subjects.
In addition, the alterations in concentrations of genes, proteins, and the metabolite induced by the anti-inflammatory dietary combination are consistent, making it an additional advantage to nutrigenomics technologies in human intervention studies like the allowing the high-sensitivity detection of multiple physiological modifications.
Bakker and her co-researchers closely observed the effects of the anti-inflammatory dietary mixture to counter the inflammation in 36 overweight men who have mildly-elevated levels of inflammatory compounds in the blood, known as C-reactive protein. The chronic inflammation is caused by an over-expression of the normal protective mechanism, or lack of its control. It has been associated with a range of conditions related to cardio-vascular disease, cognitive decline, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, type II diabetes and arthritis.
The study lasted for five weeks on double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study under a supplement having 6.3mg of resveratrol, 94.5 mg of green tea extract, 40% of EGCG, 90.7 mg of alpha-tocopherol, 125 mg of vitamin C, 1200 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, 380mg of it is EPA while 260 mg of it is DHA, and 3.75 mg of tomato extract with lycopene.
Applying the principles in nutrigenomics, and other sciences such as proteomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics, the researchers were able to assess 120 plasma proteins, 274 metabolites, and the transcriptomes of fat tissue and blood cells. Besides the demonstration of improvements in adiponectine levels, Bakker and her co-researchers discovered several subtle alterations indicating modulated inflammation of adipose tissue, improving endothelial function, affecting the oxidative stress, and increasing the liver fatty acid oxidation.
The researchers observed that the compounds were selected to simulate real life situations. Also, the levels were identified by data for the individual anti-inflammatory action. Nutrigenomics aim to understand why certain genes react to specific nutrients, and by that, people can have custom-tailored supplements to help achieve optimal health and fight diseases even before they can occur.
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