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Behavioral indicators characterizing specific features of the pathological process of alimentary-dependent diseases were studied using in vivo model of alimentary hyperlipidemia in rats and mice. Rats and mice of the control groups received balanced semisynthetic diet for 63 days; animals of the experimental groups received a diet with high fat content (30% dry weight), balanced or high-fat diet with fructose solution instead of water, balanced cholesterol-enriched diet (0.5% dry weight), or balanced cholesterol-enriched diet with fructose solution. During the experiment, the mass of food, consumed by the animals, was monitored daily. Muscle tone was assessed by the front paw grip strength on days 33 and 54 of the experiment. Anxiety was tested in the elevated plus maze on days 36 and 57. Behavior and memory were assessed by conditioned passive avoidance reflex on days 39, 40, and 61. A significant increase in muscle tone was revealed on day 54 in rats fed with a balanced diet with fructose, and in mice, that received a similar diet, supplemented with fructose and cholesterol. Anxiety in the second test (day 57) was significantly decreased in rats fed high-fat diet and increased in mice fed high fat diet and high fat diet with fructose. In the second test, additional amount of cholesterol in the diet was the factor that significantly improved both short-term and long-term memory in both species. In mice, in contrast to rats, addition of fructose, including combination with high-fat diet, significantly worsened short-term and long-term memory. Thus, dietary factors, contributing to alimentary dyslipidemia development in rats and mice, can significantly affect the indices of neuromotor activity, anxiety level and cognitive functions, and the nature and direction of these changes are largely species-specific.

The variety of stressful conditions in daily human activity requires nutritional support with safe, specialized food products containing functional food ingredients (FFIs) enriched with biologically active plant substances with proven adaptogenic properties. In this in vivo study, by evaluating a set of physiological parameters and biochemical markers, we investigated the effectiveness of the developed FFIs from Chenopodium quinoa grains in stress conditions induced by daily episodes of immobilization for 36 days. The results of the evaluation of the anxiety-like functions, locomotor, and search activity of rats in the “open field” and “elevated plus maze” tests demonstrated the ability of FFIs to reduce stressful behavior induced by immobilization. The improvement in the long-term memory of animals treated with FFIs was noted in the passive avoidance test. Together with the hypolipidemic effect and compensation of transaminase levels, FFIs normalized the excretion of catecholamines in the urine and reduced the levels of malondialdehyde to values of the control group. According to the results of the assessment of FFI acute oral toxicity, the LD50 value exceeded 5000 mg/kg of body weight, which categorizes the FFIs under hazard class 5—substances with low hazard. The conducted experiment demonstrated the effectiveness of nutritional support with FFIs on the selected stress model. The positive safety profile of FFIs makes them reasonable to study on other stress models and to conduct clinical testing as part of specialized food products in various categories of people exposed to chronic stress.

Modern nutrition has clear evidence of the involvement into the metabolism of many minor food components, which were not previously discussed as factors necessary for life support of health and ill human. One of the innovative approaches to the creation of a new generation of specialized food products for the dietary treatment of type 2 diabetes is a targeted use in their composition plant minor biologically active food substances with proven significant hypoglycemic, cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant action as a «micro-ingredients». Promising sources of natural functional food ingredients for the dietary treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes and its attendant complications are plant extracts with a high content of natural polyphenolic compounds. The natural polyphenolic compounds include flavonoids, obligate food antioxidants what is the reason of their hypoglycemic and/or lipid-lowering effects. However, we consume no individual flavonoids, but their mixtures, with plant food. Data about antidiabetic properties of plant extracts containing various combinations of flavonoids are very important in the framework of the problem of dietary correction and prevention of type 2 diabetes from the position of clinical nutrition. The review briefly discusses the effect of green tea, bilberry leaves and bean coats plant extracts on disorders of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in laboratory animals with experimentally or genetically determined diabetes. The presented analysis of publications shows that the results of experimental studies in vitro and in vivo confirm the antioxidant, hypoglycemic and/or hypolipidemic effect of polyphenolic plant extracts. It was concluded that the inclusion of plant extracts of flavonoids in the specialized food products for targeted nutritional correction and/or prevention of metabolic disorders of type 2 diabetes is a promising direction.

Increasing the ability of the human body to adapt in conditions of physical or emotional stress is promising from the standpoint of the use of preventive nutrition containing functional food ingredients (FFI) with proven effectiveness in complex physiological in vivo studies. In this work, we developed FFI from spinach leaves (Spinacia oleracea L.) with a high content of polyphenols and adaptogens—phytoecdysteroids. Using in vivo models of increased physical activity and immobilization-induced emotional stress, we evaluated the nonspecific resistance of rats in response to the addition of the developed FFI to the diet. In the acute toxicity experiment, we found no signs of FFI toxicity up to 5000 mg/kg body weight. As a result of the daily 26-day consumption of FFI, we observed an anxiolytic effect in physiological studies. FFI prevented an increase in the content of biogenic amines in the blood, the main markers of the stress system, and had a positive effect on the lipid metabolism of the rats. The obtained results demonstrate a “smoothing” effect on the body’s reaction in response to induced stress conditions.

At this stage in the development of nutriciological science, it has not been established if biologically active substances are essential to the human body; however, an explanation of the physiological role of minor biologically active substances is necessary to clarify the qualitative composition of Nutrioma. Of particular interest is the transition metal, vanadium. Adding vanadium to the diet of animals with induced or genetically determined type 2 diabetes mellitus normalizes glucose and blood insulin levels, reduces insulin resistance, promotes β-cell regeneration, and has a beneficial effect on lipid metabolism. Clinical studies of the effectiveness of vanadium are not convincing, in most part, because of their insufficient duration. The review briefly discusses the main mechanisms of the action of vanadium compounds. Therapeutic doses of vanadium compounds may overlap with toxic doses. Organic vanadium compounds could be used in significantly lower doses. The main problem with the possible use of vanadium compounds in antidiabetic therapy is the balance between their beneficial effects and the connected risks of side effects.

An effective technological approach to produce adaptogenic microingredients is to concentrate plant biologically active substances via sorption on various matrices. The aim was to develop and evaluate in vivo the phytoecdysteroids and flavonoids concentrate extracted from quinoa grain and sorbed on the coagulated chicken egg protein. The consecutive extraction of phytoecdysteroids and flavonoids was conducted followed by sorption on the protein. The in vivo experiment was performed during 37 days using Wistar male rats. The developed concentrate was added into the diet of experimental animals in the dose 0.59±0.02 g/100 g of diet. As a stress model we used daily 40-min immobilization and exhaustive 3-hour immobilization at the end of the experiment. Urinary catecholamines content was determined, blood corticosterone, malon dialdehyde, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase content was determined. Phytoecdysteroids and flavonoids were concentrated 20 and 80 times respectively compared to the initial raw materials. The concentrate consumption neutralized negative effect of immobilization stress on anxiety level of Wistar rats. The significant decrease in urinary excretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline shows the pronounced adaptogenic effect of the concentrate, whereas phytoecdysteroids and flavonoids act as prostressors activating body antioxidant protection system, what is substantiated by significantly increased blood superoxide dismutase level of experimental animals.