The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic brought changes to almost every segment of our lives, including dietary habits. We present one among several studies, and the first on the Croatian population, aiming at investigating changes of food choice motives before and during the pandemic. The study was performed in June 2021 as an online-based survey, using a 36-item Food Choice Questionnaire applied for both the periods before and during the pandemic. The final sample consisted of 1232 adults living in Croatia. Sensory appeal was ranked as the number one most important food choice motive before, whereas health was ranked as the number one most important food choice motive during the pandemic. Ethical concern was reported as the least important food choice motive both before and during the pandemic. In women, natural content (p = 0.002), health, convenience, price, weight control, familiarity, and ethical concern (all p < 0.001) became more important during the pandemic, while price (p = 0.009), weight control, familiarity, and ethical concern (all p < 0.001) became more relevant for men. All together, these can be considered favorable changes toward optimal diets and may result in beneficial influences on health and lifestyle. Education strategies and efficiently tackling misinformation are prerequisites for informed food choice, which will ensure long-lasting positive effects of such changes.

In the pharmacokinetic analysis of ethanol after oral administration, only single- or two-compartment models are used, but their precision in estimating pharmacokinetic parameters might be insufficient. In a recent study, pharmacokinetic analysis using a modified Norberg three-compartment model was performed after oral administration of differently sweetened alcoholic solutions and compared to pharmacokinetic analysis using the classic Widmark model. On three occasions, eight male volunteers consumed differently sweetened alcoholic solutions: non-sweetened, sweetened with sucrose, and sweetened with steviol glycoside. Blood ethanol concentration was determined from samples obtained at t = 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 min after consumption. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed model independently, using the classic Widmarks model and using the modified Norberg model. Results showed that estimated pharmacokinetic parameters depend on the type of model used. The classic Widmark model in particular overestimated the fraction of absorbed ethanol from the gastrointestinal system to systemic circulation. Furthermore, the type of sweetener also affected pharmacokinetic parameters, although the difference was not statistically significant. In conclusion, the novel pharmacokinetic model, while being more physiological, fits experimental data better and hence is more suitable for modelling real-life alcohol consumption. In addition, the effect of natural non-caloric sweetener steviol glycoside on ethanol pharmacokinetics, analysed for the first time in the current research, might be different when compared to the common-used sweetener sucrose.

To investigate the main motives driving dietary intake changes potentially introduced by preventive measures to address the pandemic, an online survey, using a 36-item Food Choice Questionnaire applied for the period before (the year 2019) and during (2020–2021) the pandemic, was distributed between July and October 2021 among adult residents from Belgium. A total of 427 eligible respondents, the majority Dutch-speaking, were included for analyses. The importance of nine motives for food choices, including health, mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, price, weight control, familiarity and ethical concerns, was assessed by scoring from 1 to 5, and comparing mean scores from the during period with the before period. Sensory appeal was the most important food choice motive before (mean score of 4.02 ± 0.51) and during (3.98 ± 0.48) the pandemic. Convenience and health also ranked among the main motives, with health observed to become more important during the pandemic (3.69 ± 0.60 during vs. 3.64 ± 0.59 before). Additionally, mean scores of mood (3.41 ± 0.71 vs. 3.32 ± 0.58), natural content (3.35 ± 0.84 vs. 3.26 ± 0.85) and weight control (3.33 ± 0.79 vs. 3.25 ± 0.76) were significantly higher during as compared to before. The extent of change in the level of importance for natural content was smaller with increasing age, and for health larger for urban areas, but for other motives there were no significant differences across population subgroups. Changes in the level of importance were observed in both directions, while a moderate share of respondents declared no change, suggesting some persistence of food choice motives. Further activities within public health monitoring should be considered to fully understand the COVID-19 implications on food choice motives together with people’s food behaviors and consumption.

Possible early detection of people at increased risk for severe COVID-19 clinical course is extremely important so that appropriate therapy can be initiated promptly to prevent numerous deaths. Our study included 45 patients treated for COVID-19 at Dubrava University Hospital, with clinical course analysed from medical records and stool samples collected for determination of the gut microbiota diversity using 16S rRNA analysis. Sequencing was successful for 41 samples belonging to four clinical course groups (WHO guidelines): 12 samples—critical, 12—severe, 9—moderate and 8—mild group. Microbial composition was assessed between groups using two approaches—ANCOM (QIIME2) and Kruskal–Wallis (MicrobiomeAnalyst). On the genus level, two taxa were found to be differentially abundant: archaeal Halococcus and Coprococcus (for both W = 37)—the two were most abundant in the critical group (10% and 0.94% of entire abundance, respectively). Coprococcus catus was the only species identified by both methods to be differentially abundant between groups and was most abundant in the critical group. Alpha diversity indicated greater evenness of features in the critical group. Beta diversity showed clustering of samples from the critical group. A relationship between gut microbiota composition and the clinical course of COVID-19 disease was indicated, pointing towards specific distinct features of the critical group. In a broader sense, our findings might be useful in combating potential future similar pandemics and emerging virus outbreaks.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine–metabolic disorder characterized by endocrine disruption, insulin resistance, hyperandrogenism, and chronic low-grade inflammation, in which oxidative stress has been proposed as a mechanistic link between metabolic and reproductive dysfunction. This narrative review summarizes current evidence on redox-related mechanisms and evaluates dietary and supplemental antioxidants in PCOS. Clinical trials, systematic reviews, and mechanistic studies were examined to assess antioxidant classification, signaling pathways, and outcomes related to metabolic, endocrine, reproductive, and oxidative stress parameters. Antioxidant interventions frequently modify circulating redox biomarkers and may improve selected metabolic indices; however, consistent effects on hormonal regulation, ovulation, and long-term clinical outcomes remain limited and heterogeneous. Differences in study design, antioxidant formulation and dosage, baseline metabolic status, and outcome selection complicate interpretation, while emerging evidence suggests modulation by lifestyle factors and gut microbiota-related mechanisms. Overall, antioxidants appear to act primarily through modulation of endogenous redox regulation rather than direct reactive oxygen species scavenging and are best considered adjuncts to lifestyle-based management. Further phenotype-informed and longitudinal studies using clinically relevant endpoints are required to clarify therapeutic relevance in PCOS.

Introduction: The discovery of antibiotics saves millions of lives worldwide, but in recent years bacterial antibiotic resistance has become a growing global problem as bacteria have become increasingly able to adapt to all known antibiotics