The Role of Dietary Nutrients in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Abstract

Peripheral nerves are highly susceptible to injuries induced from everyday activities such as falling or work and sport accidents as well as more severe incidents such as car and motorcycle accidents. Many efforts have been made to improve nerve regeneration, but a satisfactory outcome is still unachieved, highlighting the need for easy to apply supportive strategies for stimulating nerve growth and functional recovery. Recent focus has been made on the effect of the consumed diet and its relation to healthy and well-functioning body systems. Normally, a balanced, healthy daily diet should provide our body with all the needed nutritional elements for maintaining correct function. The health of the central and peripheral nervous system is largely dependent on balanced nutrients supply. While already addressed in many reviews with different focus, we comprehensively review here the possible role of different nutrients in maintaining a healthy peripheral nervous system and their possible role in supporting the process of peripheral nerve regeneration. In fact, many dietary supplements have already demonstrated an important role in peripheral nerve development and regeneration; thus, a tailored dietary plan supplied to a patient following nerve injury could play a non-negotiable role in accelerating and promoting the process of nerve regeneration.

Sustainable Valorization of Sambucus nigra L. Berries: From Crop Biodiversity to Nutritional Value of Juice and Pomace

“…The Mg plays important roles in the physiological function of basically every organ, including heart, brain, bone, blood, and skeletal muscle. Moreover, the Mg is the most abundant intracellular cation and is involved in several metabolic and cellular processes in the body, and its deficiency has been associated with the risk of chronic diseases [ 6 , 58 ]. The daily intake of Ca is of major importance as this mineral represents the principal nutrient in the human body, stored in teeth and bone tissue, where it plays a key role in skeletal mineralization, regulation of hormonal secretion, transmission of nerve impulses, and vascular activities [ 6 , 59 ].…”

“…Despite elderberry juice and dry pomace possibly presenting a low contribution to the daily Fe and Se requirements, their role must be taken into consideration. In fact, Fe plays a crucial role in several functions, including oxygen transport, DNA synthesis and repair, electron transport, myelin formation maintenance, and for the synthesis of neurotransmitters [ 6 , 60 ]. Se is associated to a wide variety of physiological processes, including the central nervous system, male reproductive system, endocrine system, muscle function, cardiovascular system, and regulating immune cell functions [ 6 , 61 ].…”

“…On the other hand, from a health point of view, it is projected that improving well-being and a healthy diet with a sustainable food production system can prevent 11 million premature adult deaths per year [ 3 ]. The dietary nutrients are essential to the maintenance of body functions, with the macronutrients providing the major sources of energy, while micronutrients play a central role in metabolism, for example, through providing essential cofactors for enzymatic functions, as well as the maintenance of specific tissue function [ 6 ].…”

The Effects of Vitamins and Micronutrients on Helicobacter pylori Pathogenicity, Survival, and Eradication: A Crosstalk between Micronutrients and Immune System

“…Retinol, especially found in animal foods including dairy, fish, egg yolks, and meat, is converted to retinal by retinyl ester and thereby plays a key role in low-light and color vision and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation [ 114 , 115 ]. By being converted to retinoic acid (RA), a hormone-like growth factor, retinol stimulates the differentiation and growth of epithelial cells and maintains the homeostasis of the skin and bone [ 116 , 117 ].…”

Vitamin B Complex and Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis –Attenuation of the Clinical Signs and Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis

“…Vitamins of the B group are water-soluble vitamins with many beneficial effects on the nervous system, which deficiency has been linked to different neurodegenerative diseases [ 20 ]. As demyelination and axonal deterioration are common for both vitamin B deficiency and many neurological diseases, including MS, it is believed that vitamin B treatment could aid in axonal recovery and improvement of neuronal function [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. In our previously published paper [ 25 ], we have shown that VBC (a complex of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12) treatment enhanced the motor nerve regeneration and the recovery of muscle function in a rat model of peripheral nerve injury.…”