The molecular mechanism of the cholesterol‐lowering effect of dill and kale: The influence of the food matrix components

Abstract

Foods are complex matrices containing many different compounds, all of which contribute to the overall effect of the food itself, although they have different mechanisms of action. While evaluating the effect of bioactive compounds, it is important to consider that the use of a single compound can hide the effects of the other molecules that can act synergistically or antagonistically in the same food. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of food matrix components by comparing two edible plants (dill and kale) with cholesterol‐lowering potential and similar contents of their most representative bioactive, quercetin. The molecular effects of the extracts were evaluated in HepG2 cells by measuring the expression of sterol‐regulatory element‐binding proteins (SREBPs), 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐CoA reductase (HMGCR) and low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) at the mRNA and protein level. The results reported here show that both extracts reduced the cellular cholesterol level with a similar trend and magnitude. It is conceivable that the slightly different results are due to the diverse composition of minor bioactive compounds, indicating that only by considering food as a whole is it possible to understand the complex relationship between food, nutrition, and health in a foodomics vision.

Recent advances in the application of capillary electromigration methods for food analysis and Foodomics

“…Several of the Foodomics works recently published have involved the use of other different strategies and have allowed the study of the effects of extracellular production of hydrogen peroxide by rosemary polyphenols on the anti‐proliferative activity of rosemary polyphenols against HT‐29 colon cancer cells or how these compounds, i.e., rosemary polyphenols, induce unfolded protein response and changes in cholesterol metabolism in HT29 colon cancer cells . These different analytical strategies have also involved the use of other liquid techniques (e.g., UHPLC, nano‐LC) hyphenated to high resolution mass spectrometry and they have allowed the investigation of the faecal metabolomic fingerprint after moderate consumption of red wine , the peptidomic study of the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of bovine haemoglobin .…”

Modulation of Adipocyte Differentiation and Proadipogenic Gene Expression by Sulforaphane, Genistein, and Docosahexaenoic Acid as a First Step to Counteract Obesity

“…Further investigations are needed to verify whether the antiadipogenic properties evidenced in vitro do translate into in vivo efficacy in humans and to sort out the pathway(s) responsible for the beneficial effects. Moreover, the compounds here considered have been studied as discrete molecules and not as part of a food, ignoring both the matrix effect and the eventual synergistic or enhanced activities between the selected compounds and other food components or other bioactive molecules [ 43 ]. This issue also deserves future attention.…”

Co-Administration of Propionate or Protocatechuic Acid Does Not Affect DHA-Specific Transcriptional Effects on Lipid Metabolism in Cultured Hepatic Cells

“…Reverse-transcription and RT-qPCR were performed as previously described [ 26 , 27 ]. For sequences of forward and reverse primers, see Table S1 .…”