|
Nutrigenomics will enable foods to be developed that can be used to prevent and treat disease
The science of nutrigenomics studies the effect of dietary bioactive compounds on gene expression.
Nutrigenomics addresses the role of nutrients and dietary ingredients in gene expression
Bioactives from food, such as Vitamin A in carrots, interact directly with DNA to alter gene expression
|
 |
Click to see our Nutrigenomics Screening Patent
Most foods we consume contain bioactives that are capable of modulating gene expression in humans. This is very important because as the science of nutrigenomics continues to evolve, it will reveal not only which foods can have a direct impact on our genes, but also the mechanisms as to how and why.
Nutrigenomics is slowly making its way into the mainstream foods industry. The IFT Expert Panel Report on Functional Foods (Clydesdale, 2004; IFT, 2005) described nutrigenomics, proteomics and metabolomics as " the three new disciplines that will contribute to the rapid development of functional foods [to] identify the biological basis by which food components promote health and wellness." As defined in the report, "nutrigenomics" represents the interaction of dietary components and genes.
While most measurements of the impact of food on human biochemistry utilize quantification of biomarkers, evidence is mounting that, in many cases, modulation of gene expression by bioactives is an important mechanism of action. If the genes are controlling the output (i.e., biomarkers), it makes sense to measure the driver of the reactions.
A key mechanism involving nutrient-gene interaction is the ability and necessity of some nutrients to act as ligands and bind with transcription factors. Transcription factors bind to specific DNA sequences in the promoter region of specific genes, thereby either enhancing or suppressing gene expression. Binding of a nutrient to a transcription factor will affect the ability of a transcription factor to bind to DNA. The above figure is a simplistic pictorial illustrating that some of the food we consume is made up of bioactive ingredients that pass through our cells into the nucleus, where they act as ligands to directly bind to DNA to effect transcription of RNA, and ultimately translation of proteins. In the case of retinoids from carrots and fatty acids from salmon, they bind to specific genes via a PPAR complex, resulting in, for example, the reduction of fatty acid synthesis and an increase in fatty acid oxidation.
For more information about nutrigenomics, please see the following articles by our in-house experts:
Beyond Nutrition: The Impact of Food on Genes
The State of Nutrigenomics
Nutrigenomics: A Discovery Tool for Ingredients Old and New
|
