Sarcopenia is characterized by an age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function and has been recognized as a clinical disease by the World Health Organization since 2016. Substantial evidence has suggested that dietary modification can be a feasible tool to combat sarcopenia. Among various natural dietary ingredients, the present study focused on botanical and marine extracts, phytochemicals, and probiotics. Aims of this review were (1) to provide basic concepts including the definition, diagnosis, prevalence, and adverse effects of sarcopenia, (2) to describe possible pathological mechanisms including protein homeostasis imbalance, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and satellite cells dysfunction, and (3) to analyze recent experimental studies reporting potential biological functions against sarcopenia. A recent literature review for dietary ingredients demonstrated that protein homeostasis is maintained via an increase in the PI3K/Akt pathway and/or a decrease in the ubiquitin–proteasome system. Regulation of inflammation has primarily targeted inhibition of NF-κB signaling. Elevated Pgc-1α or Pax7 expression reverses mitochondrial or satellite cell dysfunction. This review provides the current knowledge on dietary components with the potential to assist sarcopenia prevention and/or treatment. Further in-depth studies are required to elucidate the role of and develop various dietary materials for healthier aging, particularly concerning muscle health.

Milk is a nutrient-rich food source, and among the various milks, breast milk is a nutrient source provided by mothers to newborns in many mammals. Exosomes are nano-sized membranous extracellular vesicles that play important roles in cell-to-cell communication. Exosomes originate from endogenous synthesis and dietary sources such as milk. Discovered through electron microscopy as floating vesicles, the existence of exosomes in human milk was confirmed owing to a density between 1.10 and 1.18 g/mL in a sucrose gradient corresponding to the known density of exosomes and detection of MHC classes I and II, CD63, CD81, and CD86 on the vesicles. To date, milk exosomes have been used for treating many diseases, including cancers, and are widely proposed as promising carriers for the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents. However, few studies on milk exosomes focus on geriatric health, especially sarcopenia and osteoporosis related to bone and muscle. Therefore, the present study focused on milk exosomes and their cargoes, which are potential candidates for dietary supplements, and when combined with drugs, they can be effective in treating musculoskeletal diseases. In this review, we introduce the basic concepts, including the definition, various sources, and cargoes of milk exosomes, and exosome isolation and characterization methods. Additionally, we review recent literature on the musculoskeletal system and milk exosomes. Since inflammation and oxidative stress underly musculoskeletal disorders, studies reporting the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of milk exosomes are also summarized. Finally, the therapeutic potential of milk exosomes in targeting muscle and bone health is proposed.

Dietary patterns are an important research focus for evaluating associations with disease risk. However, studies investigating secular trends in dietary patterns among Korean adults remain limited. Therefore, we aimed to identify the major dietary patterns in the Korean population and to assess how these patterns have changed over the past 16 years. This study included 33,408 men and 46,628 women aged 19 years or older who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2007 to 2022. Dietary intake was assessed using a single 24-hour dietary recall. Dietary patterns were derived using cluster analysis based on the percentage contribution of 28 food groups to total energy intake. Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine secular trends in dietary patterns by sex and age group. Survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for cardiometabolic risk factors according to dietary patterns. Three dietary patterns were identified through cluster analysis: (1) Traditional, (2) Red Meat & Alcohol, and (3) Flour-based Foods & Sweets. The overall trend in dietary patterns among Korean adults has undergone a gradual transition from traditional to Westernized dietary patterns. Since 2013, the Flour-based Foods & Sweets pattern has become the most prevalent (p < .0001), and this pattern was more commonly observed aged 19–29 years and among women. After multivariate adjustment, men adhering to the Red Meat & Alcohol pattern had the highest odds of cardiometabolic risk factors, including hyperglycemia (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.24–1.48), high blood pressure (1.33, 1.23–1.45), hypertriglyceridemia (1.16, 1.07–1.26), hypercholesterolemia (1.17, 1.07–1.27), abdominal obesity (1.18, 1.05–1.32), and overall obesity (1.28, 1.18–1.38). In women, adherence to the Flour-based Foods & Sweets Pattern was associated with higher odds of hypercholesterolemia (1.14, 1.08–1.20) and high LDL-cholesterol (1.08, 1.03–1.15). A transition from traditional to Westernized dietary patterns occurred among Korean adults from 2007 to 2022, which may have differential impacts on cardiometabolic health according to sex and age, underscoring the need for tailored nutritional interventions and sex-specific public health strategies.

Maternal protein restriction is associated with increased risk of insulin resistance and inflammation in adulthood offspring. Here, we investigated whether maternal protein restriction could alter the risk of metabolic syndrome in postweaning high-fat (HF)-diet-challenged offspring, with focus on epididymal adipose tissue gene expression profile. Female ICR mice were fed a control (C) or a low-protein (LP) diet for two weeks before mating and throughout gestation and lactation, and their male offspring were fed an HF diet for 22 weeks (C/HF and LP/HF groups). A subset of offspring of control dams was fed a low-fat control diet (C/C group). In response to postweaning HF diet, serum insulin level and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were increased in control offspring. Maternal LP diet decreased HOMA-IR and adipose tissue inflammation, and increased serum adiponectin level in the HF-diet-challenged offspring. Accordingly, functional analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) enriched in cytokine production were downregulated in the LP/HF group compared to the C/HF group. We also observed the several annotated gene ontology terms associated with innate immunity and phagocytosis in down-regulated DEGs between LP/HF and C/C groups. In conclusion, maternal protein restriction alleviated insulin resistance and inflammation in young offspring mice fed a HF diet but may impair development of immune system in offspring.

The simultaneous exposure to a high-fat (HF) diet and to bisphenol A (BPA) from delivered foods and food-delivery containers is on the rise in humans, according to the increased frequency of food delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. This co-exposure could cause harmful tissue toxicity in the human body. Here, the preventive effect of Allium macrostemon Bunge (AM) extract against dysfunction in adipose tissue and the liver under co-exposure to BPA and an HF diet was examined using mice. C57BL/6N mice were divided into four groups (n = 6 or 7/group) according to diet and treatment: control diet with vehicle (CON), HF diet with vehicle (HF), HF diet with an oral injection of BPA (HF + BP), and HF diet with an oral injection of BPA and AM extract (HF + BP + AM). HF feeding increased body weight gain compared to CON feeding, while BP + HF and BP + HF + AM feeding suppressed body weight gain compared with HF feeding. The BP + HF group had lower body weight than the HF group, but the two groups had similar epididymal fat mass. The HF + BP + AM group showed lower pro-inflammatory gene expression levels in adipose tissue and epididymal fat mass compared to the HF + BP group. Altered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in the liver was partly observed in the HF + BP group, as shown by increased total phosphorylated Jun N-terminal kinase protein levels compared to those in the HF group. In addition, ecdysterone 25-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and 6-gingerol were identified in AM extract by mass spectrometry and molecular networking analysis. In summary, the AM extract diminished adipose tissue inflammation and hepatic ER stress in an HF diet and BPA co-exposure condition. To utilize AM as a potential food component to alleviate the harmful effect of an HF diet and BPA exposure, further research investigating the specific impact of AM extract supplementation using additional experimental groups or various treatment doses is warranted.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of the extraction conditions for persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) leaf tea (PLT) on its color quality and antioxidant properties. The amount of persimmon leaf (PL) powder and pH influenced the PLT’s color and antioxidant capacity. As the amount of PL powder in tea increased, lightness decreased while yellowness increased. The PLT with the highest amount of PL (10 mg/mL) exhibited the highest 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). In addition, the PLT with the highest PL showed the highest total polyphenol and flavonoid contents. Subsequently, PLT was prepared using 10 mg/mL PL powder under varying pH conditions. As pH increased from 4 to 7, lightness decreased while redness and yellowness increased. Antioxidant capacity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and FRAP assay showed that lower pH exhibited higher antioxidant capacity. The PLT extracted under the lowest pH of 4 showed higher polyphenol and flavonoid contents than that extracted under higher pH conditions. Overall, PLT extraction using a solvent with pH 4.0 showed better antioxidant activities and higher amounts of polyphenolic compounds. Simultaneously, lesser lightness, redness, and yellowness were detected in PLT extracted under pH 4 conditions. In conclusion, to acquire a better functional health benefit in terms of antioxidant capacity, preparing PLT under pH 4 conditions is suggested.