The activities of the ILSI Japan endowed chair, at the University of Tokyo, regarding functional food genomics

INTRODUCTION

This endowed chair was founded at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, on December 1, 2003. The activities continued for the subsequent 15 years, encompassing 3 terms, until March 31, 2019. The main purpose of this endowed chair was to assist in a global understanding of the importance of genomics-based functional food science and technology – in collaboration with ILSI Japan-member companies – for the purpose of introducing a new wave of technology into the national and international food industry. This goal was posited on the fact that the genomes of major animals, including humans, plants, and microbes had already been verified.^1,2

CHAIR ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS

Term I activities (December 2003 to November 2008)

In the first 5 years of the endowed chair, statistical nutrigenomics was launched, revealing a significant expression of a number of transcriptomes in target tissues and organs following food consumption (Figure 1).³ In collaboration with some food companies,^4–14 many papers were published in high-level journals.

Term II activities (December 2008 to November 2013)

In the second 5-year term, DNA microarray studies were carried out in association with bioinformatics research, generating highly reliable and reproducible data showing that nutrigenomics is an in-depth analysis method applicable to foods whose functions are gradually revealed. The scientific evidence for food functionalities was investigated by proteomics and metabolomics (Figure 2). The results revealed the feasibility of designing some functional foods.^15–42

Term III activities (December 2013 to March 2019)

The activities in the third 5-year term included nutrigenomics based on the first- and second-term investigations and outcomes. Some changes in approaches were also attempted. While conventional functional food studies generally targeted the control of metabolic syndrome, such as by antioxidation, in the third term there was a focus on brain science, such as cognition research and behavioral science, aimed at improving locomotion by proper alimentation (Figure 3). In particular, studies centered around the development of food components that contribute to a high quality of life in advanced-aged individuals.

This objective was realized by the formation of a national project called the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (“SIP”) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery/Cabinet (Figure 4). The editors of the journal Nature (2017)⁴³ were interested in this program and reported on it in a special issue called “Spotlight on Food Science in Japan” – a highly unusual move that reflected the strong national and international interest.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

The scientific papers originating from the endowed chair are widely cited in top-tier journals and were written in collaboration with ILSI Japan-member food companies.^44–75 Since 2015, when a national system for approval of functional food claims was established, related studies have gradually adopted a new approach in terms of research objects and methodologies. In particular, research into functional foods for the next generation needs to explore cognitive activation and locomotion improvement and to provide evidence that these functionalities are effective for enhancing quality of life. To achieve this, it will be necessary to develop novel methods, including verification of each functionality by human intervention. Several obstacles must be overcome to increase the international acceptance of Japanese functional food products, such as the need for basic science, surmounting the difficulties of human intervention trials using healthy subjects, and the need for highly effective preclinical markers that can contribute to observing even a miniscule breakdown of a healthy state (Figure 5). Through the 15-year activities of this ILSI Japan-endowed chair, several new subjects have emerged. In 2016, the JSPS Frontier Innovative Research Committee proposed “Studies that aim to identify some preclinical markers as indexes for maintenance of our bodily homeostasis,” and the proposal was approved.

SUMMARY AND APPRECIATION

On April 1, 2019, “Food Functionality Science” was founded at the University of Tokyo for studies incorporating an industry-ministry-academia consortium. The research targets include a wide area of food functionalities – from basic to applied. We will continue to promote this philosophy to benefit everyone. This innovation is undoubtedly the result of social evaluation of our activities. The ILSI Japan collaboration is greatly appreciated.

The figures provided show some of the findings from the ILSI Japan-endowed chair on functional food genomics, emphasizing the importance of the academia-industry consortium for the development of future functional food studies.

Acknowledgments

Author contributions. All authors contributed equally to the preparation, revision, and approval of this manuscript.

Funding. The ILSI Japan endowed chair has been supported by the funds from participated members of ILSI Japan.

Declaration of interest. The authors have no relevant interests to declare.

References