Sustainable bioprocessing strategies for scalable d-tagatose production: From enzyme engineering to industrial implementation

Carbohydrates have a dietary role, but excessive consumption of high-calorie sugars can contribute to an increased incidence of metabolic diseases and dental caries. Recently, carbohydrates with sweetening properties and low caloric value, such as D-tagatose, have been investigated as alternative sugars. D-tagatose is a rare sugar that has nutritional and functional properties of great interest for health. This literature review presents an approach to the biological effects of D-tagatose, emphasizing its benefits for oral health. Studies report that D-tagatose has antioxidant and prebiotic effects, low digestibility, reduced glycemic and insulinemic responses, and the potential to improve the lipid profile, constituting an alternative for diabetes mellitus and obesity. It can also be observed that D-tagatose has an antioxidant action, favoring the elimination of free radicals and, consequently, causing a reduction in cellular oxidative stress. Furthermore, it also has antibacterial potential against oral species. Regarding oral health, studies have shown that D-tagatose efficiently reversed bacterial coaggregations, including periodontopathogenic species, and impaired the activity and growth of cariogenic bacteria, such as S. mutans. D-tagatose significantly inhibited biofilm formation, pH decrease and insoluble glucan synthesis in S. mutans cultures. Salivary S. mutans counts were also significantly reduced by the consumption of chewing gum containing D-tagatose and xylitol. In addition, there is evidence that tagatose is effective as an air-polishing powder for biofilm decontamination. The literature indicates that D-tagatose can contribute to the prevention of systemic diseases, also constituting a promising agent to improve oral health.

Molecular aspects of fructose metabolism and metabolic disease

Introduction. Sugar consumed in reasonable quantities plays a beneficial role for the human body. In recent decades, however, it has been found that increased sugar consumption has negative effects on the health of the population.
 Material and methods. The paper presents a synthesis of official international and national documents and bibliographic sources on the occurrence of certain non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as a result of excessive sugar consumption. A focused search of literature sources was conducted using the Google Scholar search engine, PubMed, Research for Life, and Medline databases. The criteria for selecting the items included health problems caused by excessive sugar consumption.
 Results. Excessive sugar consumption contributes to the emergence of various NBTs such as circulatory system diseases, type 2 diabetes and a. Excessive sugar consumption has a major contribution to the phenomenon of overweight and obesity with its consequences. Excess sugar in the daily diet is one of the main causes of tooth decay. According to WHO recommendations, complex, multi-sectoral interventions are needed to reduce sugar consumption.
 Conclusions. In order to prevent NCDs associated with the nutritional factor, especially with excessive sugar consumption, in the Republic of Moldova, it is important to implement cost-effective interventions both socially and economically.

Excess sugar consumption, particularly in sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), has been linked to poor cognitive performance. We aimed to assess the association of consumption of total sugar, as well as the consumption of SSBs, solid desserts, and 100% fruit juice with cognitive performance among older adults. Consumption of total sugar, SSBs, solid desserts, and 100% fruit juice were obtained from the 24-hr recall interview. Cognitive performance was evaluated using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease word list, the Animal Fluency Test, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Binary logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between consumption of sugar (total and from different sources) and cognitive performance. A total of 1,938 participants aged 60years or older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014 were included. Compared to the lowest tertile, the highest tertile of total sugar consumption was independently associated with higher odds of low memory performance (odds ratio [OR]=1.87, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.00; 3.50, p=.049). Consumption of SSBs was associated with higher risk of low memory (OR=1.58, 95% CI=1.11; 2.25, p=.014), whereas consumption of solid desserts was associated with lower risk of low verbal fluency performance (OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.41; 0.95, p=.032). Higher consumption of total sugars and SSBs was associated with lower memory performance, while consumption of solid desserts was associated with higher verbal fluency performance.

Excessive sugar consumption has become a major public health problem in recent times. The purpose of this review article is to provide a comprehensive picture of the harmful effects of sugar consumption on human health. The review includes an analysis of various studies and scientific findings conducted over the past few decades. This review examines the impact of excess sugar consumption on a range of health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The study also addresses the mechanisms underlying the link between sugar consumption and the development of such health problems. The results of this study showed that excessive sugar consumption significantly increases the risk of various serious diseases and health problems. That's why it's important for individuals and society to reduce sugar consumption and eat healthier. This overview provides a better understanding of the importance of being aware of the adverse health impacts of sugar consumption and lays the groundwork for efforts to effectively address this issue.

To the Editor:— Now it can be told! Today, when we are confronted by the inestimable nutritional boon of sugar restriction, cannot those who have the health of the nation in keeping, those who have pointed out that some forty million people in this country are not properly nourished, make it plain to the public as a whole that a large role in this deficit of minerals and vitamins is due to the excessive consumption of sugar— refined sugar which supplies energy without any other nutritive assets? The public should be brought to understand that sugar as such is no necessity, that the energy can better be derived from foods that carry other essential nutrients. Even the youngest artificially fed infants today are usually provided with extra carbohydrate in the form of corn syrup. All those concerned with nutrition have long felt that the excessive consumption of sugar in this

Excessive sugar consumption is one of the critical health behaviors contributing to Non-Communicable Diseases or NCDs, which are the leading causes of mortality among the Thai population. It is reported that Thai people have a continuous increase in sugar consumption every year associated with higher incidences of NCDs in the country. Therefore, health communication to raise awareness and modify the sugar consumption behavior in Thailand focuses on integrative communication in terms of public policies in accordance with the National NCDs Strategic Plan, guidelines and knowledge in sugar consumption including healthy and unhealthy sugar sources, sugar substitutes and their use in functional foods, health problems related to sugar consumption, the use of GDA Nutrition label, and the application of Healthier Choices standards with appropriate sugar content. With changing lifestyles, social media and technologies play a higher role in health communication regarding sugar consumption, resulting in the development of health applications in conjunction with IoT technology that can be used via smartphones. All these communications aim to promote the reduction of sugar consumption in the prevention of NCDs, thus reducing the premature death rate of the Thai population accordingly.Keywords: health communication, sugar consumption, sugar, sweetener, sugar tax, social media, non-communicable diseases, NCDs, nutrition label, GDA label, IoT

The prevalence of non-contagious diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and obesity are increasing from year to year. Unhealthy diet such as excessive consumption of sugar, salt and fat is one of the factors causing these diseases. The result of data analysis shown that 21.5% of respondents had consumed sugar exceeding the recommendation of Permenkes no 30 year 2013 (>50 gram/day), 73.7% of respondents consume salt exceeding the recommendation of Permenkes no 30 year 2013 (5 gram/day), and as many as 7% of respondents consume fat exceeds the recommendation Permenkes no 30 year 2013 (> 67% gram /day). The highest consumption of salt and fat occurs in the age group of 56 - 65 years, while the highest sugar consumption occurs in the age group 40 - 45 years. Based on sex, women tends to consume sugar, salt and fat higher than men. Consumption of salt and sugar of respondents is high. This needs special attention because excessive salt and sugar consumption can cause non-contagious diseases such as hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus type 2, whose prevalence in Indonesia is increasing.

BackgroundMedicinal plants are well known for their health benefits. Syzygium australe (Brush Cherry) is considered a health-promoting food due to its high antioxidant capacity, which may help prevent cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders. Additionally, S. australe exhibits antidiabetic and antiobesity properties. AimThis study reviews the antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of S. australe fractions, along with their key phytoconstituents.Materials and methods The antioxidant activity of S. australe crude extract and fractions was assessed using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate), ABTS (2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), FIC (ferrozine iron metal chelation), and FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) assays. Their antidiabetic activity was evaluated using α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and lipase inhibition assays. Additionally, their TFC (total flavonoid content) and TPC (total phenolic content) were determined. The secondary metabolites were analysed using Triple TOF UPLC-ESI–MS/MS (ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry).ResultsOur findings, for the first time, reveal that various S. australe extracts exhibit strong antidiabetic and antioxidant properties. The butanol and ethyl acetate fractions had the highest antidiabetic activity. Their respective IC₅₀ values against α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and lipase were 0.11–0.14 µg/mL, 0.06–0.09 µg/mL, and 26.5–30.79 ng/mL, respectively. Also, they showed powerful antioxidant activity. The IC50 values of the ethyl acetate (19.93 ± 1 μg/mL) and butanol (38.7 μg/mL) fractions were significantly lower than those of the reference compounds, Trolox (24.42 ± 0.87 μg/mL) in the DPPH assay and EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) (39.7 μg/mL) in the ferrozine iron metal chelation assay, respectively. They had a higher amount of TPC (397.65 ± 14.78, 253.32 ± 10.78 µg GAE/mg sample) and TFC (97.89 ± 4.98, 23.14 ± 1.11 µg RE/mg sample) of ethyl acetate and butanol, respectively. The significant phenolic and flavonoid substances found in these extracts may account for their strong antioxidant activity. Triple TOF UPLC-ESI–MS/MS analysis detected 18 phenolic acids, 19 derivatives, and 39 flavonoids. As a way to prevent or treat various disorders, these two extracts additionally served as a great source of antioxidant phytochemicals.ConclusionUltimately, our findings strongly suggest that the phenolics of S. australe may be valuable for the development of antioxidant and antidiabetic medications.

Harnessing l-arabinose isomerase for biological production of d-tagatose: Recent advances and its applications

A rare natural ketohexose, D-tagatose, has attracted an increasing interest as sucrose substitute due to its low caloric value and similar properties to sucrose. D-Tagatose is enzymatically produced by using L-aldose isomerase (LAI) as catalyst and D-galactose as substrate. Therefore, a continuous effort to obtain a new isolate with high LAI activity is needed. Therefore, our collection of marine bacteria was assayed by employing designed minimum culture media with 0.5% (w/v) D-galactose as the sole carbon source. D-Tagatose production ability of bacterial strains were investigated and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Our investigation showed that from 23 Indonesian marine bacteria, a total 18 bacteria possessed the ability to grow in the designed media. This result was subsequently confirmed using HPLC and showed that a total of four isolates, namely isolates LBF 110, 138, 108, and 131, exhibited a D-tagatose yield. Isolates LBF 110 and 138 were identified in this study according to molecular identification 16S rRNA method as Bacillus xiamenensis, and Brevibacterium sediminis, respectively. The other two isolates, LBF 108 and 131, were already identified in previous study as Shewanella algae and Pseudomonas stutzeri, respectively. This result suggests the potential of these isolates as D-tagatose producing bacteria.

Countries everywhere are considering the increasing evidence on the possible health benefits from reducing the consumption of sugary drinks – often called sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). This paper examines the rationale for taxing sugary drinks as a way to reduce sugar consumption and considers the experience to date. That excess consumption of sugar has serious adverse health consequences and that taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) may reduce the consumption of sugar are both largely supported by the evidence. What is less clear is whether SSB taxes can adequately address the problems arising from the excess consumption of sugar. If so, the question becomes how taxes might best be structured to do the job. The principal argument for a tax on SSB is to counter the harm that consumers may do to themselves by consuming too many sugary drinks. External costs are a much smaller part of the story. In any case, one may accept the basic public health case for discouraging the excess consumption of sugar without concluding that SSB taxes are the most effective and equitable way to achieve that objective. An excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is attractive because of its simplicity and its relatively low compliance and administrative costs. However, it covers less than half the consumption of added sugar, designing an appropriate tax is not an easy task, especially in the context of most developing countries, and the tax rate required to have a major impact on obesity may well higher than most countries are likely to accept. A better way to combat obesity might be a tax on sugar itself combined with such policies as more transparent labelling and measures that will encourage heathier lifestyles and diets.

Efficient production of d-tagatose via DNA scaffold mediated oxidoreductases assembly in vivo from whey powder

An Assessment of Turkish Adults' Knowledge Levels About Their Salt and Sugar Consumption, and Their Attitudes Toward Protecting Children from Excessive Salt and Sugar Consumption

Epidemiologic studies suggest a link between excess sugar consumption and obesity, fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. One important pathway that may link these metabolic diseases to sugar consumption is hepatic conversion of sugar to fat, a process known as de novo lipogenesis (DNL). Mechanistic studies have shown that diets high in simple sugars increase both DNL and liver fat. Importantly, removal of sugar from diets of children with obesity for only 9 days consistently reduced DNL and liver fat and improved glucose and lipid metabolism. Although the sugar and beverage industries continue to question the scientific evidence linking high-sugar diets to metabolic diseases, major health organizations now make evidence-based recommendations to limit consumption of simple sugars to no more than 5% to 10% of daily intake. Clear recommendation about moderating sugar intake to patients may be an important nonpharmacologic tool to include in clinical practice.