Circulating Structurally Related (-)-Epicatechin Metabolite Species and Levels after Sustained Intake of a Cocoa Powder High in Polyphenols Are Comparable to Those Achieved after a Single Dose

Mass spectrometry as a lens into molecular human nutrition and health

Mass spectrometry (MS) has developed over the last decades into the most informative and versatile analytical technology in molecular and structural biology (). The platform enables discovery, identification, and characterisation of non-volatile biomolecules, such as proteins, peptides, DNA, RNA, nutrients, metabolites, and lipids at both speed and scale and can elucidate their interactions and effects. The versatility, robustness, and throughput have rendered MS a major research and development platform in molecular human health and biomedical science. More recently, MS has also been established as the central tool for 'Molecular Nutrition', enabling comprehensive and rapid identification and characterisation of macro- and micronutrients, bioactives, and other food compounds. 'Molecular Nutrition' thereby helps understand bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and bioefficacy of macro- and micronutrients and related health effects. Hence, MS provides a lens through which the fate of nutrients can be monitored along digestion via absorption to metabolism. This in turn provides the bioanalytical foundation for 'Personalised Nutrition' or 'Precision Nutrition' in which design and development of diets and nutritional products is tailored towards consumer and patient groups sharing similar genetic and environmental predisposition, health/disease conditions and lifestyles, and/or objectives of performance and wellbeing. The next level of integrated nutrition science is now being built as 'Systems Nutrition' where public and personal health data are correlated with life condition and lifestyle factors, to establish directional relationships between nutrition, lifestyle, environment, and health, eventually translating into science-based public and personal heath recommendations and actions. This account provides a condensed summary of the contributions of MS to a precise, quantitative, and comprehensive nutrition and health science and sketches an outlook on its future role in this fascinating and relevant field.

Bioactive compounds for human and planetary health

Bioactive compounds found in edible plants and foods are vital for human and planetary health, yet their significance remains underappreciated. These natural bioactives, as part of whole diets, ingredients, or supplements, can modulate multiple aspects of human health and wellness. Recent advancements in omic sciences and computational biology, combined with the development of Precision Nutrition, have contributed to the convergence of nutrition and medicine, as well as more efficient and affordable healthcare solutions that harness the power of food for prevention and therapy. Innovation in this field is crucial to feed a growing global population sustainably and healthily. This requires significant changes in our food system, spanning agriculture, production, distribution and consumption. As we are facing pressing planetary health challenges, investing in bioactive-based solutions is an opportunity to protect biodiversity and the health of our soils, waters, and the atmosphere, while also creating value for consumers, patients, communities, and stakeholders. Such research and innovation targets include alternative proteins, such as cellular agriculture and plant-derived protein; natural extracts that improve shelf-life as natural preservatives; upcycling of agricultural by-products to reduce food waste; and the development of natural alternatives to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Translational research and innovation in the field of natural bioactives are currently being developed at two levels, using a systems-oriented approach. First, at the biological level, the interplay between these compounds and the human host and microbiome is being elucidated through omics research, big data and artificial intelligence, to accelerate both discovery and validation. Second, at the ecosystem level, efforts are focused on producing diverse nutrient-rich, flavorful, and resilient, yet high-yield agricultural crops, and educating consumers to make informed choices that benefit both their health and the planet. Adopting a system-oriented perspective helps: unravel the intricate and dynamic relationships between bioactives, nutrition, and sustainability outcomes, harnessing the power of nature to promote human health and wellbeing; foster sustainable agriculture and protect the ecosystem. Interdisciplinary collaboration in this field is needed for a new era of research and development of practical food-based solutions for some of the most pressing challenges humanity and our planet are facing today.

Prediction, Discovery, and Characterization of Plant- and Food-Derived Health-Beneficial Bioactive Peptides

Nature may have the answer to many of our questions about human, animal, and environmental health. Natural bioactives, especially when harvested from sustainable plant and food sources, provide a plethora of molecular solutions to nutritionally actionable, chronic conditions. The spectrum of these conditions, such as metabolic, immune, and gastrointestinal disorders, has changed with prolonged human life span, which should be matched with an appropriately extended health span, which would in turn favour more sustainable health care: "adding years to life and adding life to years". To date, bioactive peptides have been undervalued and underexploited as food ingredients and drugs. The future of translational science on bioactive peptides-and natural bioactives in general-is being built on (a) systems-level rather than reductionist strategies for understanding their interdependent, and at times synergistic, functions; and (b) the leverage of artificial intelligence for prediction and discovery, thereby significantly reducing the time from idea and concept to finished solutions for consumers and patients. This new strategy follows the path from benefit definition via design to prediction and, eventually, validation and production.