This review examines the correlation between plant-based diets and athletic performance, with a specific emphasis on the vital aspect of optimizing micronutrients for athletes. In light of the increasing prevalence of plant-based nutrition among athletes due to its perceived advantages in terms of health, ethics, and the environment, this study investigates the ability of these diets to satisfy the demanding nutritional requirements essential for achieving optimal performance and facilitating recovery. The article emphasizes the significance of essential micronutrients such as iron, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids and also addressing the challenges with their absorption and bioavailability from plant sources. The review consolidates existing scientific knowledge to propose strategies for improving micronutrient consumption, comparing the effects of supplements against whole foods, and highlighting the significance of enhancing bioavailability. The proposal supports the implementation of personalized meal planning, with the assistance of sports nutritionists or dietitians, and is substantiated by case studies showcasing the success of plant-based athletes. Future research directions examine the long-term effects of plant-based diets on micronutrient status and athletic performance, as well as developing nutritional trends and technology. The review concludes that plant-based diets can meet athletes\' nutritional demands and improve peak performance while aligning with personal and ethical values with strategic planning and professional guidance. This study intends to help athletes, coaches, and nutritionists understand plant-based nutrition for enhanced athletic performance.

Flavonoids are found in the roots, stems, leaves, and fruits of many plant taxa. They are related to plant growth and development, pigment formation, and protection against environmental stress. Flavonoids function as antioxidants and exert anti-inflammatory effects in the cardiovascular system by modulating classical inflammatory response pathways, such as the TLR4-NF-ĸB, PI3K-AKT, and Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathways. There is increasing evidence for the therapeutic effects of flavonoids on hypertension, atherosclerosis, and other diseases. The potential clinical value of flavonoids for diseases of the cardiovascular system has been widely explored. For example, studies have evaluated the roles of flavonoids in the regulation of blood pressure via endothelium-dependent and non-endothelium-dependent pathways and in the regulation of myocardial systolic and diastolic functions by influencing calcium homeostasis and smooth muscle-related protein expression. Flavonoids also have hypoglycaemic, hypolipidemic, anti-platelet, autophagy, and antibacterial effects. In this paper, the role and mechanism of flavonoids in cardiovascular diseases were reviewed in order to provide reference for the clinical application of flavonoids in the future.

Neonicotinoid pesticides (NNPs) and microplastics (MPs) are two emerging contaminants in agricultural environment. However, the interaction between MPs (especially biodegradable plastics) and NNPs is currently unclear. Therefore, taking thiacloprid (THI) as an example of NNPs, this study explores the adsorption-desorption process and mechanism of NNPs on MPs (traditional and biodegradable plastics), and analyzed the main factors affecting the adsorption (pH, salinity and dissolved organic matter). In addition, by using diffusive gradients in thin-films device, this study assessed the impact of MPs on the bioavailability of NNPs in soil. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of polyamide 6 (96.49 μg g-1) for THI was greater than that of poly (butylene adipate co-terephthalate) (88.78 μg g-1). Aging increased the adsorption amount of THI (5.53 %-15.8 %) due to the higher specific surface area and reduced contact angle of MPs, but the adsorption mechanism remained unchanged. The desorption amount of THI from MPs in simulated intestinal fluid is 1.30-1.36 times. The MPs in soil alter the distribution of THI in the soil, increasing the bioavailability of THI while inhibiting its degradation. The results highlighted the significance of examining the combined pollution caused by MPs and NNPs.

Nanobiotechnology is a potentially safe and sustainable strategy for both agricultural production and soil remediation, yet the potential of nanomaterials (NMs) application to remediate heavy metal(loid)-contaminated soils is still unclear. A meta-analysis with approximately 6000 observations was conducted to quantify the effects of NMs on safe crop production in soils contaminated with heavy metal(loid) (HM), and a machine learning approach was used to identify the major contributing features. Applying NMs can elevate the crop shoot (18.2 %, 15.4-21.2 %) and grain biomass (30.7 %, 26.9-34.9 %), and decrease the shoot and grain HM concentration by 31.8 % (28.9-34.5 %) and 46.8 % (43.7-49.8 %), respectively. Iron-NMs showed a greater potential to inhibit crop HM uptake compared to other types of NMs. Our result further demonstrates that NMs application substantially reduces the potential health risk of HM in crop grains by human health risk assessment. The NMs-induced reduction in HM accumulation was associated with decreasing HM bioavailability, as well as increased soil pH and organic matter. A random forest model demonstrates that soil pH and total HM concentration are the two significant features affecting shoot HM accumulation. This analysis of the literature highlights the significant potential of NMs application in promoting safe agricultural production in HM-contaminated agricultural lands.

The combined contamination of terrestrial environments by metal(loid)s (MEs) and microplastics (MPs) is a major environmental issue. Once MPs enter soils, they can interact with MEs and modify their environmental availability, environmental bioavailability, and potential toxic effects on biota. Although research efforts have been made to describe the underlying mechanisms driving MP and ME interactions, the effects of MPs on ME bioavailability in terrestrial Mollusca have not yet been documented. To fill this gap, we exposed the terrestrial snail Cantareus aspersus to different combinations of polystyrene (PS) and arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), or mercury (Hg) concentrations. Using kinetic approaches, we then assessed the variations in the environmental availability of As, Cd or Hg after three weeks of equilibration and in the environmental bioavailability of As, Cd or Hg to snails after four weeks of exposure. We showed that while environmental availability was influenced by the total ME concentration, the effects of PS were limited. Although an increase in As availability was observed for the highest exposure concentrations at the beginning of the experiment, the soil ageing processes led to rapid adsorption in the soil regardless of the PS particle concentration. Concerning transfers to snail, ME bioaccumulation was ME concentration-dependent but not modified by the PS concentration in the soils. Nevertheless, the kinetic approaches evidenced an increase in As (2- to 2.6-fold) and Cd (1.6-fold), but not Hg, environmental bioavailability or excretion (2.3- to 3.6-fold for As, 1.8-fold for Cd) at low PS concentrations. However, these impacts were no longer observable at the highest PS exposure concentrations because of the increase in the bioaccessibility of MEs in the snail digestive tract. The generalization of such hormetic responses and the identification of the precise mechanisms involved necessitate further research to deepen our understanding of the MP-mediated behaviour of MEs in co-occurring scenarios.

To enhance the remediation effect of heavy metal pollution, organic fertilizers with different maturity levels were added to cadmium-contaminated soil. The remediation effect was determined by evaluating the form transformation and bioavailability of cadmium in heavy metal-contaminated soil. -Results showed that when the maturity was 50%, although the soil humus (HS) content increased, it didn\'t contribute to reducing the bioavailability of soil Cd. Appropriately increasing the maturity (GI ≥ 80%), the HS increased by 113.95%∼157.96%, and reduced significantly the bioavailability of soil Cd, among the exchangeable Cd decreased by 16.04%∼33.51% (P < 0.01). The structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that HS content is a critical factor influencing the transformation of Cd forms and the reduction of exchangeable Cd accumulation; the HS and residual Cd content were positively correlated with the maturity (P < 0.01), while exchangeable Cd content was negatively correlated with maturity (P < 0.01), and the correlation increased with increasing maturity. In summary, appropriately increasing the maturity (GI ≥ 80%) can increase significantly HS, promote the transformation of exchangeable Cd into residual Cd, and ultimately enhance the effectiveness of organic fertilizers in the remediation of soil Cd pollution. These results provide a new insight into the remediation of Cd-contaminated soil through organic fertilizer as soil amendment in Cd-contaminated soil.

Peptides are widely used within biomaterials to improve cell adhesion, incorporate bioactive ligands, and enable cell-mediated degradation of the matrix. While many of the peptides incorporated into biomaterials are intended to be present throughout the life of the material, their stability is not typically quantified during culture. In this work, we designed a series of peptide libraries containing four different N-terminal peptide functionalizations and three C-terminal functionalizations to better understand how simple modifications can be used to reduce the nonspecific degradation of peptides. We tested these libraries with three cell types commonly used in biomaterials research, including mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs), endothelial cells, and macrophages, and quantified how these cell types nonspecifically degraded peptides as a function of terminal amino acid and chemistry. We found that peptides in solution which contained N-terminal amines were almost entirely degraded by 48 h, irrespective of the terminal amino acid, and that degradation occurred even at high peptide concentrations. Peptides with C-terminal carboxylic acids also had significant degradation when cultured with the cells. We found that simple modifications to the termini could significantly reduce or completely abolish nonspecific degradation when soluble peptides were added to cells cultured on tissue culture plastic or within hydrogel matrices, and that functionalizations which mimicked peptide conjugations to hydrogel matrices significantly slowed nonspecific degradation. We also found that there were minimal differences in peptide degradation across cell donors and that sequences mimicking different peptides commonly used to functionalize biomaterials all had significant nonspecific degradation. Finally, we saw that there was a positive trend between RGD stability and hMSC spreading within hydrogels, indicating that improving the stability of peptides within biomaterial matrices may improve the performance of engineered matrices.

Most studies on the beneficial effects of polyphenols on human health have focused on polyphenols extracted using aqueous organic solvents, ignoring the fact that a portion of polyphenols form complexes with polysaccharides. Polysaccharides and polyphenols are interrelated, and their interactions affect the physicochemical property, quality, and nutritional value of foods. In this review, the distribution of bound polyphenols in major food sources is summarized. The effect of food processing on the interaction between polyphenols and cell wall polysaccharides (CWP) is discussed in detail. We also focus on the digestion, absorption, and metabolic behavior of polysaccharide-polyphenol complexes. Different food processing techniques affect the interaction between CWP and polyphenols by altering their structure, solubility, and strength of interactions. The interaction influences the free concentration and extractability of polyphenols in food and modulates their bioaccessibility in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to their major release in the colon. Metabolism of polyphenols by gut microbes significantly enhances the bioavailability of polyphenols. The metabolic pathway and product formation rate of polyphenols and the fermentation characteristics of polysaccharides are affected by the interaction. Furthermore, the interaction exhibits synergistic or antagonistic effects on the stability, solubility, antioxidant and functional activities of polyphenols. In summary, understanding the interactions between polysaccharides and polyphenols and their changes in food processing is of great significance for a comprehensive understanding of the health benefits of polyphenols and the optimization of food processing technology.

Bioavailability of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from the Earth\'s crust in the soil, e.g., As, Hg, Tl, and Pb, can pose a potential environmental and health risk because of human activities, especially related to mining extraction. The biomonitoring allows to detect PTE contamination through their measurement in living organisms as trees. However, the choice of which plant species and tissue to analyse is a key point to be evaluated in relation to PTE absorption and translocation. The aim of this work was to assess the As, Hg, Tl, and Pb distribution in Castanea sativa Mill. plant tissues, given its importance for both biomass and food production. The study identified two sites in the Alpi Apuane (Italy), with similar environmental conditions (e.g., elevation, exposure, forest type, and tree species) but different soil PTE levels. The topsoil was characterized, and the PTE fractions with different bioavailability were measured. The PTE concentrations were also analysed in chestnut plant tissues (leaves, bark, wood, nuts, and shells) in parallel with and evaluation of plant health status through the determination of micro and macronutrient concentrations and the leaf C and N isotope composition (δ13C or δ15N). Chestnut trees showed a good health status highlighting its suitability for Tl, As, Hg, and Pb biomonitoring, by a tissue-specific PTE allocation. Thallium and Hg were detected in all plant tissues at similar concentrations, As was found in leaves, wood, and nuts while Pb only in the bark. The δ15N negatively correlated with leaf Mn and Tl concentrations, suggesting possible changes in N source and/or plant metabolism due to the high contamination level and acid soil pH. The Tl in La Culla site trees was associated with its presence in the carbonate rocks but not in the topsoil, highlighting the potentiality of chestnut in providing valuable information for geochemical surveying.

Five different millets (foxtail, little, barnyard, kodo and browntop) with and without sprouting were subjected to flaking. Phytic acid and phenolic content tends to decrease significantly, whereas antioxidant activity increased up to 77.32% on flaking of millets. A significant decrease in peak and final viscosity was observed in millet flakes. A-type diffraction pattern was predominant for unsprouted millets whereas the flaked millets showed V-type crystallinity. The protein digestibility significantly increased up to 37.77% in flakes made from sprouted millets. The mineral bioavailability upon flaking of millets increased, especially Ca (88.22% for little), Fe (43.04% for barnyard) and Zn (61.77% for kodo), which is attributed to the reduction in phytic acid. Flaking, however, led to an increase in rapidly and slowly digestible starch with a corresponding decrease in resistant starch. Among the unsprouted and sprouted millet flakes, foxtail received the highest sensory scores for overall acceptability.