Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain associated with defecation or a change in bowel habits. Gut microbiota, which acts as a real organ with well-defined functions, is in a mutualistic relationship with the host, harvesting additional energy and nutrients from the diet and protecting the host from pathogens; specific alterations in its composition seem to play a crucial role in IBS pathophysiology. It is well known that diet can significantly modulate the intestinal microbiota profile but it is less known how different nutritional approach effective in IBS patients, such as the low-FODMAP diet, could be responsible of intestinal microbiota changes, thus influencing the presence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The aim of this review was to explore the effects of different nutritional protocols (e.g., traditional nutritional advice, low-FODMAP diet, gluten-free diet, etc.) on IBS-D symptoms and on intestinal microbiota variations in both IBS-D patients and healthy subjects. To date, an ideal nutritional protocol does not exist for IBS-D patients but it seems crucial to consider the effect of the different nutritional approaches on the intestinal microbiota composition to better define an efficient strategy to manage this functional disorder.

The best nutritional strategy to fight the rise in obesity remains a debated issue. The Mediterranean diet (MD) and the Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic diet (VLCKD) are effective at helping people lose body weight (BW) and fat mass (FM) while preserving fat-free mass (FFM). This study aimed to evaluate the time these two diets took to reach a loss of 5% of the initial BW and how body composition was affected. We randomized 268 subjects with obesity or overweight in two arms, MD and VLCKD, for a maximum of 3 months or until they reached 5% BW loss. This result was achieved after one month of VLCKD and 3 months of MD. Both diets were effective in terms of BW (p < 0.0001) and FM loss (p < 0.0001), but the MD reached a higher reduction in both waist circumference (p = 0.0010) and FM (p = 0.0006) and a greater increase in total body water (p = 0.0017) and FFM (p = 0.0373) than VLCKD. The population was also stratified according to gender, age, and BMI. These two nutritional protocols are both effective in improving anthropometrical parameters and body composition, but they take different time spans to reach the goal. Therefore, professionals should evaluate which is the most suitable according to each patient’s health status.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic, progressive, immune-mediated diseases of the intestinal tract. The main subtypes of IBDs are Chron’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The etiology is still unclear, but there are genetic, environmental and host-related factors that contribute to the development of these diseases. Recent literature has shown that dietary therapy is the cornerstone of IBD treatment in terms of management of symptoms, relapse and care of the pathology. IBD patients show that microbiota dysbiosis and diet, especially dietary fiber, can modulate its composition. These patients are more at risk of energy protein malnutrition than the general population and are deficient in micronutrients. So far, no dietary component is considered responsible for IBD and there is not a specific therapeutic diet for it. The aim of this review is to evaluate the role of dietary fibers in CD and UC and help health professionals in the nutritional management of these pathologies. Further studies are necessary to determine the appropriate amount and type of fiber to suggest in the case of IBD to ameliorate psychosocial conditions and patients’ quality of life.

In recent years, evidence has shown the potential therapeutic effects of different natural compounds for the prevention and treatment of radiotherapy-induced mucositis (RIOM). RIOM represents one of the most frequent side effects associated with anti-neoplastic treatments affecting patients’ quality of life and treatment response due to radiation therapy discontinuation. The innate radio-protective ability of natural products obtained from plants is in part due to the numerous antioxidants possessed as a part of their normal secondary metabolic processes. However, oxygen presence is a key point for radiation efficacy on cancer cells. The aim of this review is to describe the most recent evidence on radiation-induced injury and the emerging protective role of natural compounds in preventing and treating this specific damage without compromising treatment efficacy.

Chronic gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) impose significant health burdens globally. IBDs, encompassing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are multifactorial disorders characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. On the other hand, IBS is one of the principal gastrointestinal tract functional disorders and is characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. Although the precise etiopathogenesis of these disorders remains unclear, mounting evidence suggests that non-coding RNA molecules play crucial roles in regulating gene expression associated with inflammation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and tissue permeability, thus influencing disease progression. miRNAs have emerged as possible reliable biomarkers, as they can be analyzed in the biological fluids of patients at a low cost. This review explores the roles of miRNAs in IBDs and IBS, focusing on their involvement in the control of disease hallmarks. By an extensive literature review and employing bioinformatics tools, we identified the miRNAs frequently studied concerning these diseases. Ultimately, specific miRNAs could be proposed as diagnostic biomarkers for IBDs and IBS. Their ability to be secreted into biofluids makes them promising candidates for non-invasive diagnostic tools. Therefore, understanding molecular mechanisms through the ways in which they regulate gastrointestinal inflammation and immune responses could provide new insights into the pathogenesis of IBDs and IBS and open avenues for miRNA-based therapeutic interventions.

Avian influenza virus (AIV) poses a significant challenge to poultry production, with negative repercussions for both the economy and public health worldwide. Since January 2003, a total of 868 human cases of AIV H5N1 have been reported from four countries in the Western Pacific Region, as of 9 March 2023. When AIVs are circulating in poultry, there is a risk of sporadic infections and small clusters of human cases due to exposure to infected poultry or contaminated environments. The increase in reported A(H5N1) infections may reflect continued virus circulation in birds, as well as enhanced surveillance and diagnostic capacity resulting from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous countermeasures, including vaccines and antiviral treatments, are available for influenza infection. However, their effectiveness is often debated due to the ongoing resistance to antivirals and the relatively low and unpredictable efficiency of influenza vaccines compared to other vaccines. Vaccination remains the primary method for preventing influenza acquisition or avoiding serious complications related to the disease. In this review, we summarize the global landscape of the Influenza A virus and provide insights into human clinical symptomatology. We call for urgent investment in genomic surveillance strategies to timely detect and shape the emergence of any potential viral pathogen, which is essential for epidemic/pandemic preparedness.