NUTRACEUTICALS AND FREE RADICALS
Group Leader: Josep Lluís Torres
Research at NFR involves the thorough evaluation nutraceuticals and functional food components as health promoting agents. The nutraceuticals (e.g. antioxidant polyphenols, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, iminosugars) are natural products obtained either from agricultural and fishery by-products or by environmentally friendly biosynthetic procedures. The group is mainly focused on the prevention of the modern epidemics of obesity and diabetes. We pay particular attention to oxidative stress, which is a major damaging process mediated by free radicals and occurring in diabetes as well as in other disorders such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. The study of free radicals, their reactivity, their use as probes for antioxidant activity and their control or elimination by nutraceuticals is a central goal of our research. The antioxidant activity is measured by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy with the spin trapping and radical scavenging methodology. In vivo oxidative stress is evaluated by analyzing isoprostanes.
We focus on in vivo studies with rat models of pre-diabetes in which we test combinations of different nutraceuticals that show complementary activities. Our latest results show the potential of iminosugars such as fagomine in the management of risk factors for diabetes such as insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance. The study of the relationship between intestinal microbiota, gut integrity and the health status of the host is also a primary goal in our recent studies. Preventive strategies of the future may include the maintenance of a balanced gut microbiota.
Link to personal blog Josep L. Torres
- Definition of animal models of pre-diabetes and the metabolic syndrome
- Functional activity and mechanisms of action of food ingredients for the prevention of diabetes and obesity
- Relationship between intestinal microbiota and health
Scientific staff
Josep Lluís Torres
Research Professor
joseplluis.torres@iqac.csic.es
Lab people
Garoa Santocildes
Postdoctoral Researcher
garoa.santocildes@iqac.csic.es
- Poststroke Lung Infection by Opportunistic Commensal Bacteria Is Not Mediated by Their Expansion in the Gut Microbiota
Díaz-Marugan, L., Gallizioli, M., Márquez-Kisinousky, L., Arboleya, S., Mastrangelo, A., Ruiz-Jaén, F., Pedragosa, J., Casals, C., Morales, F.J., Ramos-Romero, S., Traserra, S., Justicia, C., Gueimonde, M., Jiménez, M., Torres, J.L., Urra, X., Chamorro, Á., Sancho, D., De Los Reyes-Gavilán, C.G., Miró-Mur, F., Planas, A.M.
Stroke, 54 (7), pp. 1875-1887. 2023.
- Bioactivity of Macronutrients from Chlorella in Physical Exercise
Lorenzo, K., Santocildes, G., Torrella, J.R., Magalhães, J., Pagès, T., Viscor, G., Torres, J.L., Ramos-Romero, S.
Nutrients, 15 (9), art. no. 2168, 2023.
- Unifying Scheme for the Biosynthesis of Acyl-Branched Sugars: Extended Substrate Scope of Thiamine-Dependent Enzymes
Steitz, J.-P., Krug, L., Walter, L., Hernández, K., Röhr, C., Clapés, P., Müller, M.
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 61 (12), art. no. e202113405, 2022
- Unifying Scheme for the Biosynthesis of Acyl-Branched Sugars: Extended Substrate Scope of Thiamine-Dependent Enzymes
Steitz, J.-P., Krug, L., Walter, L., Hernández, K., Röhr, C., Clapés, P., Müller, M.
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 2022
- Recent Advances in the Substrate Selectivity of Aldolases
Hélaine, V., Gastaldi, C., Lemaire, M., Clapés, P., Guérard-Hélaine, C.
ACS Catalysis, 12 (1), pp. 733-761. 2022
- Effects of a fish oil rich in docosahexaenoic acid on cardiometabolic risk factors and oxidative stress in healthy rats
Miralles-Pérez, B., Méndez, L., Nogués, M.R., Sánchez-Martos, V., Fortuño-Mar, À., Ramos-Romero, S., Hereu, M., Medina, I., Romeu, M.
Marine Drugs, 19 (10), art. no. 555, 2021.
- Enantioselective Reductive Oligomerization of Carbon Dioxide into l -Erythrulose via a Chemoenzymatic Catalysis
Desmons, S., Grayson-Steel, K., Nuñez-Dallos, N., Vendier, L., Hurtado, J., Clapés, P., Fauré, R., Dumon, C., Bontemps, S.
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 143 (39), pp. 16274-16283. 2021
- Cascade Synthesis of l-Homoserine Catalyzed by Lyophilized Whole Cells Containing Transaminase and Aldolase Activities: The Mathematical Modeling Approach
Česnik Katulić, M., Sudar, M., Hernández, K., Qi, Y., Charnock, S.J., Vasić-Rački, Đ., Clapés, P., Findrik Blažević, Z.
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 60 (38), pp. 13846-13858. 2021
- Physiological Effects of Intermittent Passive Exposure to Hypobaric Hypoxia and Cold in Rats
Santocildes, G., Viscor, G., Pagès, T., Ramos-Romero, S., Torres, J.L., Torrella, J.R.
Frontiers in Physiology, 12, art. no. 673095,2021
- Fish Oil Improves Pathway-Oriented Profiling of Lipid Mediators for Maintaining Metabolic Homeostasis in Adipose Tissue of Prediabetic Rats
Dasilva, G., Lois, S., Méndez, L., Miralles-Pérez, B., Romeu, M., Ramos-Romero, S., Torres, J.L., Medina, I.
Frontiers in Immunology, 12, art. no. 608875, .2021
- Edible microalgae and their bioactive compounds in the prevention and treatment of metabolic alterations
Ramos-Romero, S., Torrella, J.R., Pagès, T., Viscor, G., Torres, J.L.
Nutrients, 13 (2), art. no. 563, pp. 1-16. 2021
- The Effects of the Combination of Buckwheat D-Fagomine and Fish Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Oxidative Stress and Related Risk Factors in Pre-Obese Rats
Miralles-Pérez, B.; Nogués, M.R.; Sánchez-Martos, V.; Taltavull, N.; Méndez, L.; Medina, I.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Torres, J.L.; Romeu, M.
Foods 10, 332., 2021
- The effects of the combination of buckwheat d-fagomine and fish omega-3 fatty acids on oxidative stress and related risk factors in pre-obese rats
Miralles-Pérez, B., Nogués, M.R., Sánchez-Martos, V., Taltavull, N., Méndez, L., Medina, I., Ramos-Romero, S., Torres, J.L., Romeu, M.
Foods, 10 (2), art. no. 332, 2021
- Inter-Individual Variability in Insulin Response after Grape Pomace Supplementation in Subjects at High Cardiometabolic Risk: Role of Microbiota and miRNA
Ramos-Romero, S., Léniz, A., Martínez-Maqueda, D., Amézqueta, S., Fernández-Quintela, A., Hereu, M., Torres, J.L., Portillo, M.P., Pérez-Jiménez, J.
Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 65 (2), art. no. 2000113, 2021
- Implication of gut microbiota in the physiology of rats intermittently exposed to cold and hypobaric hypoxia(
Ramos-Romero, S., Santocildes, G., Piñol-Piñol, D., Rosés, C., Pagés, T., Hereu, M., Amézqueta, S., Torrella, J.R., Torres, J.L., Viscor, G.
PLoS ONE, 15 (11 November), art. no. e0240686, 2020
- Modifications of gut microbiota after grape pomace supplementation in subjects at cardiometabolic risk: A randomized cross-over controlled clinical trial
Ramos-Romero, S., Martínez-Maqueda, D., Hereu, M., Amézqueta, S., Torres, J.L., Pérez-Jiménez, J.
Foods, 9 (9), art. no. 1279, 2020
- Effects of Fish Oil and Grape Seed Extract Combination on Hepatic Endogenous Antioxidants and Bioactive Lipids in Diet-Induced Early Stages of Insulin Resistance in Rats
Taltavull, N., Miralles-Pérez, B., Nogués, M.R., Ramos-Romero, S., Méndez, L., Medina, I., Torres, J.L., Romeu, M.
Marine drugs, 18 (6), 2020
- Modulation of the liver protein carbonylome by the combined effect of marine omega-3 PUFAs and grape polyphenols supplementation in rats fed an obesogenic high fat and high sucrose diet
Méndez, L., Muñoz, S., Miralles-Pérez, B., Rosa Nogués, M., Ramos-Romero, S., Torres, J.L., Medina, I.
Marine Drugs, 18 (1), art. no. 34, 2020
- Effects of combined d-fagomine and omega-3 PUFAs on gut microbiota subpopulations and diabetes risk factors in rats fed a high-fat diet
Hereu, M., Ramos-Romero, S., Busquets, C., Atienza, L., Amézqueta, S., Miralles-Pérez, B., Nogués, M.R., Méndez, L., Medina, I., Torres, J.L.
Scientific Reports, 9 (1), art. no. 16628, 2019
- Combined buckwheat d-fagomine and fish omega-3 pufas stabilize the populations of gut prevotella and bacteroides while reducing weight gain in rats
Hereu, M., Ramos-Romero, S., Marín-Valls, R., Amézqueta, S., Miralles-Pérez, B., Romeu, M., Méndez, L., Medina, I., Torres, J.L.
Nutrients, 11 (11), art. no. 2606, 2019
- Bipolar charge transport in organic electron donor‐acceptor systems with stable organic radicals as electron‐withdrawing moieties
Bobet, A., Cuadrado, A., Fajarí, L., Sirés, I., Brillas, E., Almajano, M.P., Jankauskas, V., Velasco, D., Juliá, L.
Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry, art. no. e3974, . 2019
- Targeting hepatic protein carbonylation and oxidative stress occurring on diet-induced metabolic diseases through the supplementation with fish oils
Muñoz, S., Méndez, L., Dasilva, G., Torres, J.L., Ramos-Romero, S., Romeu, M., Nogués, M.R., Medina, I.
Marine Drugs, 16 (10), art. no. 353, .2018
- Functional Effects of the Buckwheat Iminosugar d-Fagomine on Rats with Diet-Induced Prediabetes
Ramos-Romero, S., Hereu, M., Atienza, L., Casas, J., Taltavull, N., Romeu, M., Amézqueta, S., Dasilva, G., Medina, I., Torres, J.L.
Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 62 (16), art. no. 1800373, 2018
- Mechanistically different effects of fat and sugar on insulin resistance, hypertension and gut microbiota in rats
Ramos-Romero, S.; Hereu, M.; Atienza, L.; Casas, J.; Jáuregui, O.; Amézqueta, S.; Dasilva, G.; Medina, I.; Nogués, M.R.; Romeu, M.; Torres, J.L.
Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 2018.
- A high-fat high-sucrose diet affects the long-term metabolic fate of grape proanthocyanidins in rats
Molinar-Toribio, E.; Fuguet, E.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Taltavull, N.; Méndez, L.; Nogués, M.R.; Medina, I.; Torres, J.L.; Pérez-Jiménez, J.
Eur. J. Nutr. 57, 339-349, 2018.
- Twisted intramolecular charge transfer in a carbazole-based chromophore. The stable [(4-N-carbazolyl)-2,3,5,6-tetrachlorophenyl]bis(2,3,5,6-tetrachlorophenyl)methyl radical
Gilabert, A.; Fajarí, L.; Sirés, I.; Reig, M.; Brillas, E.; Velasco, D.; Anglada, J.M.; Juliá, L.
New J. Chem. 41, 8422-8430, 2017.
- Fate of D-fagomine after oral administration to rats.
Amézqueta, S.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Martínez-Guimet, C.; Moreno, A.; Hereu, M.; Torres, J.L.
J. Agric. Food Chem. 65, 4414-4420, 2017.
- Effects of the combination of ω-3 PUFAs and proanthocyanidins on the gut microbiota of healthy rats.
Ramos-Romero, S.; Hereu, M.; Molinar-Toribio, E.; Almajano, M.P.; Méndez, L.; Medina, I.; Taltavull, N.; Romeu, M.; Nogués, M.R.; Torres, J.L.
Food Res. Int. 97, 364-371 2017.
- Influence of omega-3 PUFAs on the metabolism of proanthocyanidins in rats.
Molinar-Toribio, E.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Fuguet, E.; Taltavull, N.; Méndez, L.; Romeu, M.; Medina, I.; Torres, J.L.; Pérez-Jiménez, J.
Food Res. Int. 97, 133-140, 2017.
- A lipidomic study on the regulation of inflammation and oxidative stress targeted by marine ω-3 PUFA and polyphenols in high- fat high-sucrose diets.
Dasilva, G.; Pazos, M.; García-Egido, E.; Gallardo, J.M.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Torres, J.L.; Romeu, M.; Nogués, M.R.; Medina, I.
J. Nutr. Biochem. 43, 53-67, 2017.
- Changes in liver proteins of rats fed standard and high‐fat and sucrose diets induced by fish omega-3 PUFAs and their combination with grape polyphenols according to quantitative proteomics.
Méndez, L.; Ciordia, S.; Fernández, M.S.; Juárez, S.; Ramos, A.; Pazos, M.; Gallardo, J.M.; Torres, J.L.; Nogués, M.R.; Medina, I.
Nutr. Biochem. 41, 84-97, 2017.
- Stable all-organic radicals with ambipolar charge transport
Reig, M.; Gonzálvez, C.; Jankauskas, V.; Gaidelis, V.; Grazulevicius, J.V.; Fajarí, L.; Juliá, L., Velasco, D
Chem. Eur. J. 22, 18551-18558, 2016.
- Analysis and chacterization of polyphenol extracts
Sáyago-Ayerdi, S.G.; Mercado-Mercado, G.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Torres, J.L.; Pérez-Jiménez, J.
In: Advances in Technologies for Producing Food-relevant Polyphenols. Chapter 6, pp. 193-220, Cuevas-Valenzuela, J.; Vergara-Salinas, J.R.; Pérez-Correa, J.R. Eds. Contemporary Food Engineering Series, Sun, D-W. Series Ed., ISBN 978-14-987-1497-6, CRC Press. Boca Raton, 2016.
- Key aspects of polyhenols and health: metabolic fate, mechanisms of action, influence on gut microbiota
Torres, J.L.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Pérez-Jiménez, J.
In: Advances in Technologies for Producing Food-relevant Polyphenols. Chapter 2, pp. 32-66, Cuevas-Valenzuela, J.; Vergara-Salinas, J.R.; Pérez-Correa, J.R. Eds. Contemporary Food Engineering Series, Sun, D-W. Series Ed., ISBN 978-14-987-1497-6, CRC Press. Boca Raton, 2016.
- Protective effects of fish oil on pre-diabetes: a lipidomic analysis of liver ceramides in rats.
Taltavull, N.; Ras, R.; Mariné, S.; Romeu, M.; Giralt, M.; Méndez, L.; Medina, I.; Ramos-Romero, S.; Torres, J.L.; Nogués, M.R.
Food Funct. 7, 3981-3988, 2016.
- The combined action of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and grape proanthocyanidins on a rat model of diet-induced metabolic alterations.
Ramos-Romero, S.; Molinar-Toribio, E.; Pérez-Jiménez, J.; Taltavull, N.; Dasilva, G.; Romeu, M.; Medina, I.; Torres, J.L.
Food Funct. 7, 3516-3523, 2016.
- Advances in the analysis of iminocyclitols: methods, sources and bioavailability.
Amézqueta, S.; Torres, J.L.
Talanta, 151, 157-171, 2016.
- Lipidomics to analyze the influence of diets with different EPA:DHA ratios in the progression of Metabolic Syndrome using SHROB rats as a model.
Dasilva, G.; Pazos, M.; García-Egido, E.; Pérez-Jiménez, J.; Torres, J.L.; Giralt, M.; Nogués, M.R.; Medina, I.
Food Chem. 205, 196-203, 2016.
- Microalgas comestibles para el mantenimiento de la homeostasis energética. Aplicación al síndrome metabólico inducido por la dieta, al ejercicio físico y a la hipoxia.
Coordinator: Josep Lluís Torres Simon
Grant: PID2020-117009RB-I00 funded by MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033
Period: 2021-2024
Funding: 252.836,00
