Francisco J Sánchez-Muniz

Complutense University of Madrid | UCM · Department of Nutrition and Bromatology I (Nutrition)

Autophagy is a very active process that plays an important role in cell and organ differentiation and remodelling, being a crucial system to guarantee health. This physiological process is activated in starvation and inhibited in the presence of nutrients. This short review comments on the three types of autophagy: macroautophagy, microautophagy, a...

The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a cluster of risk factors, such as central obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and arterial hypertension, which increase the probability of causing premature mortality. The consumption of high-fat diets (HFD), normally referred to high-saturated fat diets, is a major driver of the rising incidence of MS. In fact, th...

Previous studies have pointed to a possible relationship between vitamin D deficiency and the severity of the disease promoted by SARS-CoV-2, reducing respiratory and cardiovascular complications caused by a hyperreaction of the immune system known as "cytokine storm". This vitamin exerts multiple functions that depend on the presence and levels of...

Scope: Hypercholesterolemia increases the risk of mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), especially in the late-stage. Consumption of bioactive compounds as functional ingredients would help achieve therapeutic goals for cholesterolemia. Silicon has demonstrated a hypocholesterolemic effect and the ability to reduce fat digestion. However,...

High meat consumption has been associated with increased oxidative stress mainly due to the generation of oxidized compounds in the body, such as malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxy-nonenal, oxysterols, or protein carbonyls, which can induce oxidative damage. Meat products are excellent matrices for introducing different bioactive compounds, to obtain funct...

Epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested that dietary fiber and proanthocyanidins play an important role on gut microbiota (GM), colonic integrity and body health. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a prevalent disease in which the modifications in the GM and colonic markers stand out. This manuscript hypothesizes the consumption of...

Aims The relationship between iron status, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has scarcely been tested. This study hypothesizes that patients with obesity and T2DM have altered iron metabolism. Methods 537 T2DM patients were selected from the cross-sectional DICARIVA study excluding patients with high-sensitivity-C-reactive-protein (hs-CR...

This paper examines the effect of the type of the emulsifying protein (EP) (sodium caseinate (SC) and whey protein isolate (WPI)) on both oil-in-water liquid-like emulsions (Es) and the corresponding cold gelled emulsions (GEs), and also the effect of addition of carob extract rich in condensed tannins (T). The systems, intended as functional food...

High meat and meat-products consumption has been related to degenerative diseases. In addition to their saturated fatty acids and cholesterol contents, oxidation products generated during their production, storage, digestion, and metabolization have been largely implicated. This review begins by summarizing the concept of meat and meat-products by...

The inclusion of functional bioactive compounds of dietary fiber in meat products has demonstrated to exert a significant impact on human health. Carob Fruit Extract (CFE) is a dietary fiber rich in proanthocyanidins with known antioxidant, hypolipidemic, and hypoglycemic effects. Consumption of CFE-enriched meat (CFE-RM) may provide interesting be...

Las proantocianidinas (PA), también denominadas taninos condensados, son compuestos polifenólicos vegetales que pertenecen a la subcategoría de flavanoles. Constituyen el grupo más abundante de fenoles naturales de la dieta occidental. Las PA difieren en el grado de polimerización y estructura, lo que a su vez condiciona su metabolización y sus efe...

Pregnancy is a crucial period where growth, development, maturation, and metabolic adaptations take place. This chapter deals with central aspects of nutrition throughout gestation on the embryonic and fetal periods. Details of the thrifty phenotype hypothesis are given, indicating that hypo-/subnutrition causes metabolic adaptations that permit th...

Frying is a very common cooking method in the Mediterranean cuisine with fried-food consumption largely contributing to Mediterranean diet composition. New habits, kitchen facilities, and potential health hazard have modified old culinary practices, inducing reduction in fried-food consumption in Mediterranean countries. This review provides severa...

This article describes the virtues of a research focused on silicon, one of the most important but least known ingredients in beer, and its protective action at the neurodegenerative level. Among the various factors contributing to the Alzheimer's disease induction and development, aluminum, by concentrating in brain induces, among other mechanisms...

This special article discusses the mechanisms and central aspects related to three molecules: erythropoietin, hypoxia-induced factor (HIF) and von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL) that have led after multiple investigations to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine 2019 to scientists William G. Kaelin, Gregg L. Semenza and Peter J. Ratcliffe. T...

Insulin resistance (IR) produces qualitative, quantitative and kinetic changes of lipoproteins in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Carob-fruit-extract (CFE) has demonstrated antidiabetic properties but barely studies have evaluated the effect of CFE functional-meat consumption on early stages of T2DM. The current study was designed to analyze the e...

Internationally recognized Spanish experts in the food industry, nutrition, toxicology, sustainability, and veterinary science met in Madrid on July 2018 to develop a consensus about palm oil (PO) as a food ingredient. Their aim was to provide a useful, evidence-based point of reference about PO. Scientific evidence about the role of PO in food saf...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of Croton hypoleucus (EC). The present work reports the first pharmacological, toxicological, and antioxidant studies of EC extract on liver injury. Liver necrosis was induced by thioacetamide (TAA). Five groups were established: Croton Extract (EC), thioacetamide (...

The prevalence of degenerative diseases has risen in western countries. Growing evidence suggests that demenia and other cognition affectations are associated with ambient factors including specific nutrients, food ingredients or specific dietary patterns. Mediterranean diet adherence has been associated with various health benefits and decreased r...

Alfred Nobel (figura 2), en su testamento firmado en París en el club Sueco-Noruego, instituyó con su fortuna, un fondo que premiaba a aquellas personas que sobresalieran de forma determinante en los campos de la Paz, Literatura, Fisiología o Medicina, Física y Química y muy posteriormente, la entidad que continúa y mima su labor, en Ciencias Econó...

Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is prevalent in high-meat-product consumers. The effect of consuming lipid-improved p^ates/frankfurters on plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, thromboxane A2 (as TXB2), prostacyclin I2 (as 6-keto-PGF1a), activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, antithrombin, and insulin-resistanc...

Background & aims: Extracellular mass-to-body cell mass ratio (ECM/BCM ratio) which differentiates the proportion between intraextracellular compartments, could be a nutrition index of being wasted overloaded in hemodialysis (HD) patients. This study aimed to describe a cut-off point of the ECM/BCM ratio and, to find out the relationship between t...

Carob fruit extract (CFE) has shown remarkable in vitro antioxidant properties and reduces postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in healthy animals. Development of functional meat products that contain bioactive components are presented as a great nutritional strategy. Until now, the effect of the consumption of restructured meat enriched w...

Geranium schiedeanum has been used in traditional therapies as an antiseptic, antipyretic, and as analgesic. The present study was designed to evaluate the pretreatment with G. schiedeanum total extract (GS) and its active metabolites on stimulating the endogenous antioxidant defense system (EADS): catalase (Cat), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutat...

Restructuring pork (RP) by adding new functional ingredients, like Chia oil (one of the richest natural source of α-linolenic acid) or hydroxytyrosol (HxT) (potent antioxidant), both with hypolipidemic activities, is one of the strategies that may help to reduce the potential negative effects of high meat products consumption. The aim of this study...

In this work on celiac disease, the authors focus mainly on the most relevant historical aspects that have been patterning knowledge on celiac disease. Once more details of the disease through their symptoms have been known, a more rigorous profile of this pathology was made. Thus, the Celiac Diseases first was considered a chronic indigestion with...

Increased postprandial lipemia is a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. Carob fruit extract (CFE) contains condensed tannins whose intake has been inversely related to CVD. The objective was to evaluate the in vitro pancreatic lipase activity in presence of CFE and the in vivo effect of CFE on postprandial lipemia of healthy Wistar rats in ac...

Aluminum consumption has been associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies suggest that regular beer intake reverses the pro-oxidant and inflammatory statuses induced by aluminum nitrate intoxication. This paper aims to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant capacity and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of non-alcoholic b...

Este artículo especial define muy brevemente algunos aspectos de importancia de la Alimentación Artificial como soporte nutricional en situaciones especiales en pacientes que no mantienen una función digestiva suficiente y adecuada para restablecer o mantener un estado nutricional óptimo o en aquellos malnutridos o en vías estarlo. También revisa l...

This special article defines very briefly some central aspects of artificial nutrition as nutritional support in special situations in patients that are not able to maintain a sufficient and adequate digestive function to restore or maintain optimal nutritional status or in those who are malnourished or in the way to be. It also reviews the central...

Conclusion: In conclusion, TyG appears to be a suitable tool for identifying IR at birth, justifying the further insulin determination in those neonates. TyG ≥ 7.8 is recommended as cut-off point in neonates. The need for a follow-up study to confirm the TyG as early IR marker is desirable. What is known: • HOMA-IR and the triglyceride-glucose i...

The frying performance of two virgin olive oils (VOO) from Cornicabra olives of different ripeness indices, 2.08 for VOO1 and 4.13 for VOO2, was evaluated. Thermal, oxidative and hydrolytic alterations were determined throughout 40 frying operations with potatoes. The initial oils showed similar fatty acid compositions and oxidative stability indic...

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that by affecting mineral balance, aluminum (Al) may enhance some events associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Aim: To examine the effect of Al(NO3)3 exposure on brain Al, cooper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and zinc (Zn) levels, and the metal-change implication in br...

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a highly prevalent disease with a wide variety of associated metabolic disorders. Objectives: To describe features and prevalence of altered CVD risk factors in a T2DM population: DIabetes CArdiovascular RIsk of VAllecas (DICARIVA)...

High meat-product consumption has been related to cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, previous results suggest the benefits of consuming reduce fat meat products on lipoproteins. Present study aims to assess the effect of consuming reduced fat-Pâté and Frankfurter on some anthropometric and inflammatory markers (e.g. body fat and tumor necrotic...

This study examines the influence of different food-grade n-3 PUFA-enriched simple emulsion (SE), double emulsion (DE) and gelled double emulsion (GDE) delivery systems on the extent of lipolysis, antioxidant capacity and the bioaccessibility of hydroxytyrosol (HTy). GDE emulsion offered better protection for HTy (89%) than the other systems (79% i...

Glucomannan-enriched squid surimi improves cholesterolemia and liver antioxidant status. The effect of squid surimi enriched with glucomannan or glucomannan plus spirulina on liver and heart structures and cell damage markers was tested in fa/fa rats fed highly saturated-hyper-energetic diets. Animals were fed 70% AIN-93M rodent diet plus six versi...

Background: Lipoapoptosis has been identified as a key event in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and hence, antiapoptotic agents have been recommended as a possible effective treatment for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Silicon, included in meat as a functional ingredient, improves lipoprotein profiles and liver an...

The involvement of cholinergic system and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the pathogenesis of some degenerative diseases has been widely reported; however, the specific impact of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity as well as AChE isoform levels has not been clearly established. Hence, the purpose of present st...

Chia oil has the highest recognized α-linolenic acid (ALA) content. ALA is associated with beneficial changes in plasma lipids and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Present article aims to analyze the effect of Chia oil-enriched restructured pork (RP) on aged rats in a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) model. Groups of six male Wistar ra...

This study aimed to examine the association between vitamin B6, folate and vitamin B12 biomarkers and plasma fatty acids in European adolescents. A subsample from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study with valid data on B-vitamins and fatty acid blood parameters, and all the other covariates used in the analyses such as...

Information on insulin resistance/sensitivity in term-normoweight neonates is scarce. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis and pancreas are implicated in several aspects of foetal maturation and programming. This study aims to analyse the effects of a combination of hyperinsulinaemia plus hypercortisolaemia in such neonates together with...

The positive effects of Si on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) have been mooted. However, the effect of Si on postprandial state has not been evaluated. Postprandial hypertriglyceridaemia and hyperglycaemia are considered risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The effects of Si supplementation on postprandial hypertriglycer...

We evaluated the effects of glucomannan or glucomannan plus spirulina-restructured pork (RP) on liver fatty acid profile, desaturase/elongase enzyme activities and oxidative status of Zucker fa/fa rats for seven weeks. Control (C), glucomannan (G) and glucomannan/spirulina (GS)-RP; HC (cholesterol-enriched control), HG and HGS (cholesterol-enriched...

Archeological evidence suggests that cultivation of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) began as early as 2600 BC in Northern American countries. Sunflower ranks among the most important annual field crops in the world. Most of its economic value derives from the sunflower oil production that has increased in the last few decades. In this article, sev...

Abdominal fat has been recognized as the most hormonally active tissue secreting a variety of adipocytokines and, therefore, potentially contributing to inflammation. The conicity index (Cindex) has been considered a valuable indicator of central obesity. This study aims to relate plasma concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 (IL-6),...

In this article, we have tried to analyse the core aspects that not only make it difficult to investigate but also transfer knowledge and technology in Spain and other countries, especially non-English speaking ones. Major factors affecting research expenses and the role of managers and mediators are analysed. The paper ends with a reflection on th...

Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is prevalent in people at high meat-product consumption. To study the effect of consuming different Pâté and Frankfurter formulations on clinical/emergent CVD biomarkers in male volunteers with different initial LDL-cholesterol levels (< and 􀁴 3.36 mmol/L). Method: Eighteen male volunteers with at least two...

Abstract Background. An increase of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in the younger population has been reported in Spain. Adolescents have changed their dietary habits and increased the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS). The Longitudinal study in the area of Toledo aims to evaluate food intake and nutritional habits and their relationship with earl...

Meat consumption is influenced by various kinds of factors, among them health implications. Different strategies can be effective in developing meat-based functional foods. These basically entail reducing the presence of compounds with negative health implications and enhancing the presence of beneficial compounds. This article reviews a comprehens...

High meat-product consumption has been related to cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, previous results suggest the benefits of consuming improved fat meat products on lipoprotein-cholesterol and anthropometric measurements. Present study aims to assess the effect of consuming different Pâté and Frankfurter formulations on emergent CVD biomarkers...

Meat is a well accepted food with appreciable appealing. Due to its high nutritional value it plays a central role in human development. Meat/meat derivates are important sources of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Their nutritional importance is paralleled to their economic impact. Paying attention to the social alarm originated by a recent public...

The influence of maternal fat mass and obesity (FTO) gene polymorphism on neonatal insulin sensitivity/resistance biomarkers and lipoprotein profile has not been tested. The study aimed to assess the association between the FTO rs9939609 polymorphism in mother-neonate couples and neonatal anthropometrical measurements, insulin sensitivity/resistanc...

Background: Pork is an essential component of the diet that has been linked with major degenerative diseases and development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Previous studies have. Previous studies have demonstrated the in vitro antioxidant activity of silicon (Si). Furthermore, when Si is added to restructured pork (RP) strongly counterba...

Composition of the Restructured Pork (RP) incorporated to the experimental diets fed 1-year old male Wistar rats. C, control RP diet; CHOL-C, cholesterol enriched high saturated/high cholesterol control RP diet; CHOL-HxT, hydroxytyrosol RP cholesterol enriched high saturated/high cholesterol diet; CHOL-Si, silicon RP cholesterol enriched high satur...

The excessive intake of meat and meat products has been related with increased morbimortality incidence of chronic diseases, particularly with cardiovascular diseases and various types of cancer. Very recently the WHO has published a preliminary inform associating meat products consumption with colorectal cancer, suggesting that this association is...

Frying is a common and popular method of food preparation in the Mediterranean countries—one whose origins cannot be separated from those of olive tree cultivars and their exploitation. As a consequence, fried foods are considered to be an important part of the Mediterranean diet. Frying presents undoubted advantages: it decreases food preparation...

Type 2 diabetes is a very prevalent chronic disease. Among dietary factors for its prevention and treatment, interest has grown in satiating fibre (konjac glucomannan) and spirulina. Our previous studies suggest that glucomannan itself and/or in conjunction to spirulina displayed hypolipemic and antioxidant effects when incorporated to squid surimi...

Zucker fa/fa rats easily develop dyslipidemia and obesity. Restructured pork (RP) is a suitable matrix for including functional ingredients. The effects of glucomannan- RP or glucomannan plus spirulina-enriched RP on plasma lipid/lipoprotein levels, cytochrome P450 7A1 (CYP7A1) expression, and arylesterase activity in growing fa/fa rats fed high-en...