IFAJ World Congress Japan 2007 18th September

Room Theme

Functional Food:

a Modern Concept of the Old Saying

“Medical and Food Are Isogenic”

Soichi Arai

Tokyo University of Agriculture

Modern Science on Food

Nutritional science

Modern Aspect on

"Medicine and food are isogenic"

Functional food science

1

2

3

Science on taste,

smell and texture (rheology)

What did the richness in nutritions and

palatable foods bring about to our society?

Reaction

Overeating

Unbalanced diet

Lack of exercise

Smoking

Other bad habits

Diabetes

Hypertension

Obesity

Atherosclerosis

Colon and breast

cancers

Food-associated

allergia

Advanced age

Life style-related

diseases

The terminology "functional food" born in Japan

The concept "three categories of food function"

was proposed by "National Research Team"

Body modulation and defense

Lifestyle-related disease risk reduction

Functional foods

Food for specified health uses (FOSHU)

Sensation

Physiology

Nutrition

“Functional foods”, preposed in 1984, refer to new foods which are designed and produced to reduce the risk of lifestyle-related diseases by modulating physiological rather than nutritional functions of the body.

“Foods for specified health uses” (FOSHUs), born in 1991, are legally approved functional foods whose health claims have been permitted by the Japan Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor.

National project "Analysis and systematization of non-nutritive functional components in foods" (headed by Prof. Arai, 2000-2004)

Functional food component

Polyphenol (agricon)flavonolflavoneisoflavoneflavanonecatechinanthocyaninesimple polyphenol

CarotenoidTriterpenoidTocopherol derivativesPlant sterolLignanIsothiocyanateAlkaloidPhenylpropanoidFunctional protein

resistant proteinhydrophobic peptideproteinase inhibitor

OligopeptideAmino acidOrganic acidFunctional lipidResistant polysaccharidePrebioticsProbioticsNon-glycemic sweetner

Example

quercetin (onion)luteolin (vegetable)genistein (soybean)naringin (citrus fruits)epi-gallocatechin gallete (tea)nasnin (egg plant)chlorogenic acid (coffee)lycopene (tomato)soyasaponin (soybean)tocotrienol (soybean)-sitosterol (soybean)sesamin (sesame seed)sulfolafan (broccoli)caffeine (coffee)ferulic acid (seed)

prolamin (rice)glycinin (soy bean)oryzacystatin (rice)Val-Pro-Pro (fermented milk)GABA (fermented food)acetic acid (vinegar)polyunsaturated fatty acid (fish)alginic acid (see weed)fructo-oligosaccharide (milk)lactic acid bacilli (yogurt)neoculin (toropical fruit )

Effect

free radical trapperantioxidantanti-osteoporosis / anti-cancerantioxidant / anti-cancerantioxidant / anti-obesityantioxidant / anti-obesityantioxidantsinglet oxygen quencher antioxidantantioxidantcholesterol decreaseantioxidant / anti-hangoveranti-cancer / detoxicationanti-drowsiness / anti-obesityanti-cancer

intestinal modulationcholesterol decreaseanti-herpes virusblood pressure modulationblood pressure modulationanti-diabetescranial nerve constituentcholesterol decreasebifidobacteria growthintestinal modulationanti-diabetes / anti-obesity

Systematically studied by

Systematized Functional Food Science Necessary for us to construct

Food

Biological

Science

Material

Science

EcosystemCohortIndividual

OrganTissue

Cell

GenomeProteomeMetabolite

Nutrigenomics

Epidemiology

SignatureFood

Nutrigenomics helps understand

a food quality as

a genomic signature

1.Foods As Complex Systems with Multiple Elements▼Foods consisting of a myriad of components▼Hundreds of functional components already identified

2.Synergistic or Antagonistic Interaction among Components▼Polyphenols intervening V.E. and V.C. for antioxidative synergy

▼Enzymes and their inhibitors interacting to produce antagonism

3.Various Effects Elicited Even by Only One Functional Food▼Antioxidant, anti-tumor and anti-osteoporotic effects evoked by one isoflavor

▼More than ten functionalities existing in soybean and its products

4.Multiple Metabolites Produced Even from Only One FoodComponent Ingested ▼A metabolite may be converted variously in the body▼Metabolites themselves could be functional principles

All These Studies Need the Use of Nutrigenomics

All-inclusive Analyses Needed for:

Databases on Functional Food Factors (FFFs)*http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/

Item URL Case

http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/Mole.do?cmd

=doInit&idScreen=3

http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/SeibunFactor.do?cmd

=doInit&idScreen=1

http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/contentfff.do?cmd

=doInit&idScreen=9

http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/foodfunction.do?cmd

=doInit&idScreen=6

http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/functionfff.do?cmd

=doInit&idScreen=8

http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/chemicalSubstance.

do?cmd=doInit&idScreen=7

http://www.nihn.go.jp/FFF/Seibun.do?cmd

=doInit&idScreen=2

Molecular entity

of FFFs

FFFs found in

foods

FFF contents of

foods

Food functionalities

reported

Methods for

functionality evaluation

Functional or

dysfunctional

chemicals in foods

Reference data on

conventional nutrients

1725

444

295

11634

1031

960

1882

* As of March 31, 2005

Study on cacao polyphenol(collaboration with Morinaga & Co., Ltd.)

Case

Nutrition 2005

Wistar rats fed a High-fat (27%) diet with or without a

cacao polyphenol fraction (12.5%) for 3 weeks

0

50

100

150

200

Rate

of

bo

dy w

eig

ht

ch

an

ge

(% i

nit

ial

wt)

*

0

50

100

150

#

Seru

m t

riacylg

lyceri

de

(mg

/dL

)

0

1

2

3

4

5

LiverGastrocnemial

muscle

MesentericWAT

(% b

od

y w

t)

*

*p<0.05

with Cacao

without Cacao

Liver

FA

synthesis

citrate

transport protein

fatty acid

synthase

TG

Anti-obesity

Adipose tissue

PPAR SREBP-1c

fatty acid

transporters

fatty acid

synthesis UCP 2

TG

accumulation

ATP

citrate-lyase

PPAR: obesity marker

SREBP-1c: obesity marker

UCP: anti-obesity marker

A Step to Systems Biology

Sensationfor

palatability

Physiological functionfor

disease risk reduction

Nutritionfor

health promotion

1 cm

– Addendum –Functional food scientists should reconsider thesignificance of palatability. Our case study –– Ediblefruits of the tropical plant Curculigo latifolia contain aprotein, named neoculin, which has an activity to con-vert sourness to sweetness, ca. 500 times sweeterthan sugar at acidic pH. The protein may thus beused as a non-glycemic sweetener for anti-obesity.

One of the docking models with

human sweet-taste receptor T1R2-T1R3

Neoculin-hT1R2-hT1R3 ternary complex

(J. Mol. Biol., 2006)

Summary

1. The functional food science initiate in Japan has made us reconsider the importance of the old Asian saying “Medicine and food are isogenic”.

2. Nutrigenomics as an up-to-date methodology in life science has been widely used to evaluate a total effect of any functional food.

3. This approach will contribute to developing a new basic science, nutritional systems biology in the near future.

4. In a practical point of view, the significance of sensory perception and psychological cognition is emphasized.

5. Also, further development of academia-industry collaboration is necessary to open a newer phase of functional food science

Dr. Arai’s Background

Education:1955-1958 The University of Tokyo

Brief chronology of employment:1959-1967 Morinaga Confectionary Co., Ltd.1967-1996 Lecturer→Associate Professor→Professor,

Department of Agricultural Chemistry, The University of Tokyo

1997-2005 Professor, Department of Nutritional Science,Tokyo University of Agriculture

Special field of research and education:Food chemistry; food functionality science; nutrigenomics

Publications:230 original papers, 266 reviews, 47 books, etc.

Main honors:1994 Highest Prize of the Japan Society for

Bioscience, Biotechnology and Agrochemistry1994 American Chemical Society Prize

(Agricultural and Food Chemisty Division)

Main Public services:1999-2000 President, Japan Society for Bioscience,

Biotechnologyand Agrochemistry1998-2005 President, Japan Branch of the International

Union of Food Science and Technology