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Straw return is an effective management practice. It not only utilizes agricultural waste but also introduces dissolved organic matter (DOM) into the soil. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element in the human diet and contributes to the popularity of Se-enriched agricultural products in the Chinese market. Moreover, there are still some Se-enriched agricultural products that have yet to be utilized. This study investigated whether Se addition in soil caused component changes in the DOM extracted from rape straw. DOM extracted from rape straw grown in soil with four Se levels (0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mg Se kg−1 soil) was characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The UV-visible spectra revealed that 0.1 mg Se kg−1 soil reduced the molecular weight of DOM and caused the presence of more irreplaceable aromatic structures in the substituent groups of the DOM, while 0.5 and 1.0 mg Se kg−1 soil only reduced the DOM molecular weight. Fluorescence spectroscopy indicated that Se improved the humification degree but reduced the aromaticity of DOM. FTIR spectra proved that Se altered the contents of carboxylic acids, amino acids, alcohols and aromatic heterocycles in DOM, which were maximized in the 0.5 and 1.0 mg Se kg−1 treatment groups. We concluded that Se application could change the composition of DOM extracted from rape straw, potentially impacting the nutrient bioavailability in soil. This study provides basic data on Se-enriched rape straw utilization for eco-agriculture.

The present study evaluated the effects of butyric acid supplementation and Saccharomyces boulardii (alone or in combination) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, bone mineralization, and blood hormones of male broiler chickens fed a diet including reduced levels of nonphytate phosphorus (NPP). The chickens were allocated to 6 dietary treatments: 1) positive control diet with adequate amounts of NPP (PC; 0.48, 0.43, and 0.39% in the starter, grower, and finisher period, respectively); 2) negative control diet with low amounts of NPP (NC; 0.38, 0.33, and 0.29% in the starter, grower, and finisher period, respectively); 3) NC plus 500 FTU/kg microbial phytase (PHY); 4) NC plus 0.2% butyric acid (BA); 5) NC plus 1 × 108 cfu/kg S. boulardii (SB); 6) NC plus butyric acid and S. boulardii (BA+SB). Each treatment had 5 pen replicates of 25 birds. After 6 wk, the body weight and ADG in birds fed with any of the diets were higher (P

Seed coat darkening after a delayed harvest or prolonged storage reduces the commercial value of dry beans and is caused by the oxidation of procyanidin compounds (condensed tannins). Slow-darkening (SD) pinto beans have a recessive gene (Psd), which alters procyanidin production – postponing their darkening over time. Procyanidins are important for the processing and nutrient bioavailability of beans, therefore, this study compared the postharvest cooking times and iron bioavailability of SD pinto varieties to regular-darkening (RD) pinto varieties. The results show SD pinto beans cook 30% faster and provide 2–7 times more bioavailable iron than RD pinto beans. No relationship between iron bioavailability, iron and phytate concentrations were detected among the pinto beans. However, lower procyanidin concentrations were strongly associated with faster cooking times and improved iron bioavailability of SD pinto beans. These findings indicate that the SD trait benefits the cooking quality and iron bioavailability of stored beans.

Organic farming is an alternative to the striking increase in the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and become necessary to maintain long term high productivity of crops and sustainable agriculture. However, crop demand and nutrient bioavailability (N and P) has been major yield-limiting factor in many organic farming systems. The use of bioeffectors, formally known as biostimulants is loosely defined as an organic material and/or microorganism that is applied to enhance plant resilience, and also to improve nutrient uptake, stimulate growth and increase stress tolerance or crop quality. They can be composed of microorganism, protein hydrolysates, seaweed extracts, humic acids, and other substances. Bacteria, fungi and yeasts are used in biocontrol of plant pathogens, and produces hormone like substances. By using such stimulants, impact of environmental stresses caused by edaphic or other factors are also reduced. This review focuses on how the microbial biostimulants application can overcome nutrient limitation in organic systems by reducing gap between organic and conventional yields.

Food packaging has developed during recent years mainly due to increased demands of product safety, shelf-life extension, cost-efficiency, environmental issues, and consumer convenience. As traditional packaging has some limitation in further extension of shelf life, innovative food packaging concepts like active packaging are introduced to provide the mentioned extension and quality improvement. Packages in active packaging are able to interact with the environment and food and also perform a dynamic role in food preservation. In contrast, traditional food packages are passive barriers designed to delay the adverse effects of the environment on the food product. The integration of nanotechnology and food and beverage field brings about food taste, color, flavor, texture and consistency enhancement; food nutrient bioavailability and absorption improvement; and likewise progression of food packaging’s mechanical, barrier, and antimicrobial properties. Certainly, feasibility of application and propagation of food nanopackaging is dependent on public perception and consumer’s acceptance. This issue is controlled by providing regulations and also by public informing of consumer to know the active nanopackaging. This chapter describes active food packaging and nanomaterials, which improve packaging properties like superior barrier properties, mechanical strength, flexibility, and stability. The other section of this chapter discusses safety issues and also environmental and health concerns of nanopackaging.

The production of poultry products with minimal negative impact on the world's environment is critical to sustainability of one of our most important sources of high quality animal protein. With respect to poultry nutrition, maximizing nutrient bioavailability of the diets and formulating those diets to precisely meet the bird's growth requirements at any given time is perhaps one of the most important aspects of environmental, social and economic sustainability. This chapter explores the evolution of the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Poultry through the most recent 1994 edition. Today's modern breeds of production poultry are genetically much different than they were half a century ago and their diets have changed correspondently. During the 1940's we fed just a few different diets to poultry, primarily a grower diet and a layer diet with similar concentrations of dietary protein and energy. Today we feed both broilers and laying hens many different diets throughout their respective production periods in an attempt to be as precise as possible at meeting the optimal nutrient requirements for growth and reproduction without overfeeding and negatively affecting the environment. The availability of crystalline amino acids, growth promoters, probiotics, prebiotics, effective exogenous enzyme products, and new ideas on formulating diets with optimal amounts and proportions of proteinogenic amino acids have all contributed to the goal of sustainable poultry production with minimum environmental impact.

In the past, nutrition research has focused on single food components, such as individual vitamins and macronutrients, and how they impact on human health. This ‘reductionist’ approach has been responsible for many of the major advancements in nutritional science but has some limitations. Notably, it fails to consider how nutrients and foods interact when consumed as part of the whole diet. Foods are a complex mixture of nutrients that sit within diverse physical structures and this is collectively known as the ‘food matrix’. The food matrix is important to consider, as the overall structure of the food, the spatial organisation of the nutrients and structures within it, and how these interact with each other, impact nutrient bioavailability, absorption, and digestion and, ultimately, health. The dairy food matrix is unique in many ways and differs across the dairy food category. This chapter examines the concept of the dairy food matrix, looking specifically at how it differs across different types of dairy foods, and examines evidence regarding the effect of the dairy matrix on health. Exploring the relationship between the food matrix and health is complementary to the reductionist approach to nutrition and is needed to inform evidence-based dietary guidelines.

Insufficient intakes of minerals (such as iron, calcium, and zinc) and vitamins cause major global health problems, which can be alleviated by food fortification or supplementation. By decreasing the particle size (i.e., increasing the specific surface area) down to the nanoscale the bioavailability can be enhanced, but this may also result in adverse effects such as higher toxicity. In this chapter we describe the recent developments of nanosized mineral and vitamin compounds and their potential in the food industry. The chapter gives a brief overview of synthesis techniques of nanofortificants and in vivo and in vitro assessment methods of nutrient bioavailability and stability. A literature review of the latest developments of nutritional nanocompounds in research is given. The chapter finishes with a critical discussion of the major challenges for routine application of nanocompounds in the food industry, followed by conclusions and future research.

Pet food, one of the largest type of commercial packaged foods, continuously sets new challenges, amongst them the possibility to enhance palatability via adjusting product composition. This will optimise texture perception across consumer groups of diverse chewing capabilities, as well as improve food oral breakdown efficiency with further impact on metabolic health and nutrient bioavailability in the digestive process. Our aim is to pioneer new methods of controlling texture by answering longstanding questions such as the impact of nutrients on the mechanical properties of foods. The impact of cellulose fibres and minerals on the fracture toughness and stiffness properties of starch food extrudates is investigated for the first time through employing tensile tests and two fracture toughness tests namely Essential Work of Fracture (EWF) and cutting, on four different compositions. Fibres alone are found to increase stiffness (stiffening) and toughness (toughening) whereas minerals decrease stiffness (softening) with a minor influence on toughness. Interestingly, fibres and minerals combined maximise toughening at 28% compared to pure starch, due to the synergistic effect of fibre-matrix de-bonding and fibre breakage mechanisms at the crack tip. These new results indicate that texture can be significantly altered through the addition of minerals and short fibres. Such information is critical in the design of products that need to satisfy both nutritional and textural criteria.

Objective The purpose of this paper was to review the literature regarding the mechanisms leading to degeneration in intervertebral disks and to discuss contributing mechanical and biological factors. Methods The inclusion criteria for the literature review were research studies conducted in the last 3 decades with free full-text available in English. Review articles and articles pertaining to temporomandibular joints and joints of the body other than the intervertebral disk were excluded. The following databases were searched: PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar through September 9, 2016. Results A total of 57 articles were used in this review. Intervertebral disk cells require glucose for sustainability and oxygen to synthesize matrix components. Nutrients enter the disk via 2 vascular supply routes: capillary beds of end plates and the peripheral annulus fibrosus. Solute size, shape and charge, compression, and metabolic demand all influence the efficiency of nutrient transport, and alterations of any of these factors may have effects on nutrient transport and, potentially, disk degeneration. Conclusions Progressive nutrient transport disruptions may actively contribute in advancing the phases of degenerative disk disease. Such disruptions include dysfunctional loading and spinal position, lack of motion, high frequency loading, disk injury, aging, smoking, an acidic environment, and a lack of nutrient bioavailability.

Health-promoting ingredients such as phenolic compounds, vitamins, and minerals are being increasingly introduced into foods and beverages to produce "functional foods" specifically designed to improve human health, well-being, and performance. However, it is often challenging to incorporate these nutraceuticals into foods because they have poor solubility characteristics, impart undesirable flavor profiles, are chemically unstable, or have low bioavailability. This problem can often be overcome by encapsulating the bioactive components in nanoparticle-based delivery systems. The bioavailability of encapsulated bioactive agents often increases when the size of the particles containing them decreases, due to their faster digestion, ability to penetrate the mucus layer, or direct uptake by cells. Nanoparticles can be formulated to survive passage through specific regions of the gastrointestinal tract and then release their payload at a specified point, thus maximizing their potential health benefits. Nutraceutical-loaded nanoparticles can be fabricated through lipid formulations, natural nanocarriers, specialized equipment, biopolymer nanoparticles, and miscellaneous techniques. Classification into these five groups is based on the main mechanism or ingredient used to fabricate the nanoparticles. This chapter focuses on the utilization of food-grade nanoparticles for improving the performance of nutraceuticals in functional foods and beverages.

Food nanotechnology encompasses applications related to development of new functional materials (for protection and delivery of food bioactive compounds) and packaging applications (for improved food safety and biosecurity). In recent years, the delivery of micronutrients and nutraceuticals at nanoscale has been widely studied as these systems have the potential to improve the solubility, stability and bioavailability of food bioactives to a greater extent. The nanodelivery systems typically consist of the food bioactive compound encapsulated and stabilized in food grade ingredients, such as lipids, proteins or polysaccharides with diameters ranging from 10 nm to 1000 nm. The solubility and permeability characteristics of the nutrient to be encapsulated play a crucial role in selection of a suitable nanodelivery system. Lipid-based delivery systems such as nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoliposomes and micelles are widely studied for the delivery of lipophilic bioactive compounds. On the other hand, the hydrophilic bioactives are delivered through protein; polysaccharide or biopolymer-based colloidal nanosystems, such as hydrogels, nanogels and polymer nanoparticles. This chapter discusses on the techniques for nanoencapsulation of nutrients along with various nanodelivery systems. Further, the nutrient bioavailability enhancement of nanodelivery systems is also discussed in detail.

Bioavailability aims to describe the effect of metabolic events on nutrient utilization. The supply of nutrients to the human body depends not only on the amount of a nutrient in food but also on its bioavailability. The bioavailability of nutrients is highly variable and can be influenced by numerous factors. Different nutrients (including protein, iron, and vitamin A), and the forms in which they exist in the ingested medium, will react in different ways to inhibitors and enhancers as well as the host's nutritional status, all of which contribute to nutrient bioavailability.

The relationship between food's structure and its properties/functionalities is of fundamental importance in food formulation, processing, and manufacturing of food that is appealing to consumers. The science is to relate the functionalities of food to the physical–chemical characteristics of its ingredients and their geometric arrangement (i.e., structure formation). Functionalities of interest can be of physical/mechanical (e.g., texture, shelf life), chemical (e.g., flavor release from a given matrix), or biological nature (e.g., nutrient bioavailability).

As it is for all bacterial species, the ability to accurately sense the extracellular environment and mount an appropriate cellular response is critical for the success of the pneumococcus as a major human pathogen. This is a particularly acute issue for pneumococcus given the diverse host niches, including the mucosa, blood, and the brain, that this pathogen readily infects. Not only are these sites vastly different in terms of nutrient bioavailability and competing bacterial species, but pneumococcus also must contend with the innate and adaptive immune systems as well as be able to readily transmit to and colonize new hosts to ensure success of the species. Pneumococci utilize intricate regulatory strategies encompassing two-component systems, substrate-specific regulators, and small RNAs that play distinct roles at various stages of infection. For these reasons, a mechanistic understanding of pneumococcal gene regulation is invaluable for understanding both host and bacterial factors that underlie pathogenesis.

Scientific evidence and consumer awareness of the importance of diet in combination with a healthy lifestyle has led to an increased focus on the nutritional evaluation of certain foods such as eggs. Nutritional evaluation includes the nutrient quantification (per 100 g or per portion) of the food, which conveys the contribution of the nutrient content to an individual's daily supply and the role played by the food as part of a balanced and healthy diet. With this in mind, this chapter describes the function of certain nutrients, taking into account beneficial or adverse effects of an average intake level. Based on this evaluation, the appropriate use of enrichment to improve the nutritional quality of eggs is discussed.

Bioenergetics is the study of energy partitioning within organisms while they strive to stay alive, grow, and reproduce; it examines processes at molecular and cellular levels, as well as those studied in whole organisms. It combines biochemical concepts with knowledge about the physiological principles that govern biological processes, to provide a factorial scheme to describe the fate of energy intake. Results from studies of bioenergetics are used to estimate the energy requirements of animals for performing a range of activities, to predict the growth of farmed animals, for the evaluation of feed ingredients and for the development of animal feeds.

In vitro models can be useful tools in developing objectives that warrant testing in animal and human subjects. For nutrient absorption studies, Caco-2 cell monolayers have been widely used for defining certain aspects of nutrient uptake and transfer across epithelial cells. For a practical example, Caco-2 cell monolayers have been applied as a screening tool to address the food factors associated with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). IDA is the most common micronutrient deficiency worldwide and is primarily due to poor dietary Fe bioavailability. Development of foods with improved iron bioavailability is essential to alleviating this critical deficiency. Human and animal studies of iron absorption from food are time-consuming, expensive and offer limited capacity to address luminal interactions of iron and food ingredients. These factors have led scientists to pursue rapid, high-throughput in vitro methods that enable analysis of food-iron interactions and prediction of Fe bioavailability for humans. As a result, a simulation of in vitro digestion combined with Caco-2 cell monolayers was developed. The primary reason for this evolution of methodology is the fact that Fe solubility does not always correlate with Fe availability. Addition of the Caco-2 cell monolayer adds a living component to the model system that in theory should reflect the key step in iron bioavailability (i.e. uptake of iron by the enterocyte). In vitro digestion and Caco-2 cell culture conditions can vary significantly, and if proper physiological and cell culture principles are not applied, then the in vitro method can generate results that are not a true reflection of in vivo effects. Therefore, it is critical that an in vitro model be assessed under a broad range of conditions and validated against known effects in humans. This review summarizes the development, validation, and application of currently the most broadly applied in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture model, providing it as an example of how epithelial cell lines can be used in practical nutrition research.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some selected techniques used to quantify nutrient acquisition by plant roots. In terms of developing techniques to assess nutrient availability, most attention in past years has been directed at developing soil tests through extensive studies correlating the amounts of nutrients released to weak chemical extractants with crop yield, or with the amounts of nutrients taken up by crop plants. A number of conclusions can be drawn from this research, which is pertinent to the dogma driving development of techniques for assessing nutrient bioavailability. The chapter briefly covers computer simulation of dynamic nutrient cycling processes. Conceptual models of nutrient availability in soil are explained. A description of actual or potential nutrient bioavailability is given. Also, applied tools for assessing and removing soil mineral constraints to crop production are discussed. An overview of applied tools for assessing soil management threats to water quality is presented and research tools for building a fundamental understanding of the quantity, form and dynamics of plant-available nutrients in soils are described. This chapter presents a section on isotope exchange studies and rhizosphere studies.