i i i i i i i i i
i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i
i i i i i i i i i
i i i i i i i i i i
i i i i i i i i i
i i i i i i i i i
News
i i i i i i i i i i
Exploring the potential of algae for boosting immune systems and reducing the use of antibiotics
I
Ioannis Zabetakis The 80 percent rule
n a previous op-ed article, we had visited the first three of the power nine features of Blue Zones principles. Here are the rest six of them. Blue Zones people eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening, and then they refrain from eating any more food for the rest of the evening; exactly the opposite to the average Westernised person who might have sandwich for lunch and their main meal of the day in the evening. “Hara Hacki Bu”, an Okinawan Confucian mantra that is 2,500 years old, is said before meals and reminds people in Okinawa to stop eating when their stomachs feel about full. The 20 percent gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between gaining weight or losing it or increasing or decreasing cardiometabolic risk factors.
Diet - Fruits, vegetables, and recipes based on these ingredients (e.g. fava and lentils soups) are a focal point of the diets of the Blue Zones people and these foods occupy the lower shelves of the Mediterranean diet pyramid. Fish and seafood is eaten at least twice a week, whereas meat (mostly poultry and pork) is eaten on average five times a month. Wine - With the exception of the Seventh Day Adventists, everyone in the Blue Zones consume alcohol on a regular and moderate basis averaging up to two glasses per day. Figure 5.1, the latest version of the Mediterranean diet pyramid encourages the moderate consumption of alcohol; Blue Zones people tend to follow this guideline. Consuming two glasses per day or 14 glasses per week is the optimal dose, however the drinking pattern is of paramount importance. One or two glasses of red wine every day is key, whereas binge drinking should be avoided at all costs. There is no standard portion however studies have shown that 250 ml of red wine may lower inflammatory markers and reduce platelet aggregation. Belong - Denomination does not distinguish the Blue Zones people, however most belong to a faith-based community. Attending faith-based ceremonies on a weekly basis could add from four up to 14 years of life expectancy. This is most likely due to the sense of community.
Loved ones first - Blue Zone centenarians believe in family values. Individuals tend to keep aging parents and grandparents nearby or in the home (it lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too!). They usually commit to a life partner (a virtue that can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in their children with time and love. Right tribe - Blue Zones people live in social communities that support healthy behaviours. In Okinawa, people have created ‘moais’, which are a group of five friends who commit to each other for life.
Further reading
www.bluezones.com e: ioannis.zabetakis@ul.ie
@yanzabet
Currently working on Food Lipids at the University of Limerick, Ireland, focusing on feeds, food and nutraceuticals against inflammation, Ioannis is a co-inventor in two patents, has edited a book on marine oils, and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles (h-index 19). He is currently writing a book on "The Impact of Nutrition and Statins on Cardiovascular Diseases" for Elsevier.
T
he marine algae business is growing fast and attracting increasing attention thanks to the nutritional quality of algae and the abundance of bioactive molecules offering potential for applications especially in the human food and animal feed sectors. The cell wall of macroalgae, or seaweed, contains large quantities of sulfated polysaccharides. Various studies have shown their wide range of biological properties, including anticoagulant, antimicrobial, antiproliferative, antitumoral and immunomodulatory. A research partnership was set up between INRA and Olmix Group, the global leader in macroalgal biorefinery (particularly green and red algae), to explore the potential of isolated algal extracts rich in sulfated polysaccharides. Joint efforts have led to demonstrate that in an in vitro study on differentiated intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC- 1), the results showed that MSP® IMMUNITY prepared from Ulva armoricana green macroalgae, harvested from the northern coast of Brittany, stimulated the production of immune mediators in the intestine as CCL20, IL-8 and TNFα.. The role of those immune mediators in the activation, recruitment and migration of immune cells, upon intestinal infections is demonstrated: hence this work proves the possible modulation of intestinal immunity by MSP® IMMUNITY (1) (Berri et al., 2016). Understanding the mechanism of the immunomodulatory action mediated by MSP® IMMUNITY is necessary in order to optimise the use of bioactive polysaccharides in future prevention strategies boosting the animal’s immune response and health. The studies went thus further to explore the mechanisms involved in the modulation of immune response of epithelial cells by MSP® IMMUNITY. We have demonstrated that signalling pathway involves the activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) via the P13K/AKT pathway and the NF-κB transcription factor (2) (Berri et al., 2017). These in vitro results are very promising, since it shows that the MSP® IMMUNITY could be used in animal feed to modulate the immune response of livestock and protect their mucous membranes from pathogenic bacteria, increase animals’ resistance to infection and reduce the use of antibiotics on farms, an actual major public concern.
6 | April 2018 - International Aquafeed