Food Bioengineering最新文献

Almond hulls can be used as an inexpensive source of nutrients for producing fungi that can be used as nontraditional foods such as alternative protein, probiotics, and food ingredients. Nutrients were extracted from almond hulls using hot water and their utility in cultivating filamentous fungus Aspergillus awamori (A. awamori) in submerged cultivation was investigated using batch fermentation in flasks with passive aeration. The almond hulls extract supplied all the nutrients required for A. awamori growth. The uptake preference of various sugars was investigated and the growth kinetic parameters of A. awamori were determined. Utilization of sugars by A. awamori grown in almond hull extract proceeded sequentially with preference for glucose followed by sucrose, fructose, and then xylose. Compared to potato dextrose broth medium, the fungal biomass produced using almond hull extract as growth medium had higher protein (19.59%) and lower fat (1.50%) contents. The modified Gompertz model described the kinetics of A. awamori well with a lag phase of 0.18 days and a specific growth rate of 1.77 d⁻¹.

Algae have attracted the attention of researchers and consumers due to their health-promoting bioactive compounds. In addition, the high content of polysaccharides may confer important technological properties when included in foods with high moisture content, such as fresh cheese. In this study, two dried algae species—Fucus spiralis and Petalonia binghamiae, were added to fresh cheese to improve its functional properties. Syneresis was evaluated by water holding capacity (WHC) and measurement of weight loss of the cheeses during storage at 4°C. Cheeses were also analysed for antioxidant activity, composition, and organoleptic properties. The addition of dried seaweed significantly reduced the weight loss of fresh cheese during storage (p < 0.05), which is normally associated with a loss of sensory properties. A significant increase (p < 0.05) in antioxidant activity was also observed in the cheeses with the addition of both algae. Except for the cheese with the addition of F. spiralis (1 g/100 g), the chemical composition did not change (p > 0.05) when the algae were added to the cheeses. Cheese with the addition of dried F. spiralis showed the best results in the sensory tests, consumer preference, and purchase intention.

Probiotics have become increasingly popular over the past two decades due to the continuously expanding scientific evidence indicating their beneficial effects on human health. Therefore, they have been applied in the food industry to produce functional food, which plays a significant role in human health and reduces disease risk. However, maintaining the viability of probiotics and targeting the successful delivery to the gastrointestinal tract remain two challenging tasks in food applications. Specifically, this paper reviews the potentially beneficial properties of probiotics, highlighting the use and challenges of probiotics in food application and the associated health benefits. Of foremost importance, this paper also explores the potential underlying molecular mechanisms of the enhanced effect of probiotics on gastrointestinal epithelial cells, including a discussion on various surface adhesion-related proteins on the probiotic cell surface that facilitate colonization.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major global health problem with few therapeutic options available so far. Accumulating evidence suggests that probiotics have beneficial effects on NAFLD by modulating gut microbiota. Bifidobacterium lactis Probio-M8 (M8) is a new probiotic strain isolated from human breast milk. The aim of this study was to investigate whether M8 could protect against NAFLD in rats fed a high-fat diet by modulating gut microbiota. In this study, rats were randomly distributed into four groups: normal diet (ND) group, normal diet plus M8 (ND+M8) group, high-fat diet (HFD) group, and high-fat diet plus M8 (HFD+M8) group. Ten weeks later, hepatic morphological changes and biochemical indicators were measured. 16S rDNA sequencing was applied to analyze the gut microbiota alterations. Our results showed that M8 administration effectively improved hepatic steatosis and liver damage in high-fat diet-fed rats. 16S rDNA analysis of gut microbiota indicated that M8 could modulate the gut microbiota composition, especially increasing Bifidobacterium and decreasing Bilophila, Lachnoclostridium, GCA-900066225, and Phascolarctobacterium in high-fat diet-fed rats. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that M8 could protect against NAFLD in rats fed a high-fat diet, which may be attributed to the modulation of gut microbiota.

With evolving lifestyle preferences, consumer interest has shifted toward diets rich in antioxidants, notably anthocyanins. This study evaluates the engineering, milling, and nutritional properties of three colored wheat types (Amber, Purple P1, and Purple P2) as well as their bran fractions. Moisture levels (12%, 14%, and 16%) were investigated for their effects on engineering and debranning characteristics. The bran and flour samples of the selected wheat samples were examined for their nutritional and antioxidant characteristics. Purple P1 wheat demonstrated the highest protein, fiber, ash, and phytic acid content. Purple P2 had elevated crude fat content, while Amber exhibited increased starch content in both whole wheat flour and pearled bran. Bran consistently contained nearly double the anthocyanin content compared to flour, with Purple P1 wheat exhibiting the highest levels. Purple P1 also displayed superior polyphenol content, total flavonoids, and total antioxidant activity, while Amber samples showed minimum antioxidant activity. Considering the high nutritional and antioxidant qualities of wheat bran, their utilization as functional food seems promising. Also, there is good scope to incorporate wheat bran into different food products (like cookies, bread, noodles, etc.). The application of different modification treatments especially biological modification can further enhance their health-promoting and functional properties.

Chitosan coating and salicylic acid are two widely used preserving methods for fruits and vegetables in postharvest storage, but very limited research can be found on the application of chitosan-enriched salicylic acid (CS–SA) coating for fresh-cut radishes. In this study, three variables (chitosan, salicylic acid, and immersion time) and two responses (whiteness and total bacterial count) were employed to optimize CS–SA process for fresh-cut radishes using response surface methodology. The results showed that the optimal coating process for fresh-cut radishes was 1.0% chitosan and 1.0 mM salicylic acid for 1.8 min. The effects of the optimal CS–SA process on the major storage quality and shelf-life of fresh-cut radishes were also investigated. Results indicated that CS–SA effectively delayed the decrease of whiteness, firmness, ascorbic acid, and total phenolic content in fresh-cut radishes during storage. Meanwhile, CS–SA significantly inhibited the microbial growth and extended the shelf-life of fresh-cut radishes up to 12 days, much longer than those of non- or NaClO-treated ones with 6 and 8 days, respectively. This study suggests that CS–SA is an efficient alternative for the preservation of fresh-cut radish products, and the underlying regulation mechanism of CS–SA on delaying browning and microbial growth is worth further exploration.

To investigate the hypolipidemic and modulation effects of probiotics, the golden hamster of hyperlipidemia model was established and intervened with Lactobacillus fermentum GLF-217 (GLF-217) and lovastatin (LOV) for 6 weeks. Body weight and serum biochemical indexes were measured, and liver, colonic contents, and feces were collected after autopsy for pathological and gut microbiota analysis. The results showed that the intervention of GLF-217 and LOV could significantly reduce serum lipid levels and liver fat accumulation in golden hamsters on a high-fat diet, more importantly, the LOV intervention could cause damage to the liver. The LOV intervention significantly reduced the contents of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the colonic and downregulated the abundance of SCFAs-producing bacteria, but GLF-217 intake increased butyric acid, thus reducing blood lipids and protected the liver. This study elucidates the possible mechanism of the hypolipidemic effect of probiotics in terms of regulating gut microbiota.

This study aimed to improve the comprehensive utilization value of rice bran by investigating catalysts for the methyl esterification reaction of rice bran oil deodorized distillates and preparing phytosterol nanoparticles for addition to yogurt. Fe₂(SO₄)₃ was found to be an effective catalyst, achieving a methyl esterification rate of 98.07 ± 0.23% under optimal conditions. Then, phytosterol nanoparticles were prepared and added to yogurt, resulting in stable addition with the pH decreased from 4.23 ± 0.01 to 4.02 ± 0.01 and the titratable acidity increased from 106.48 ± 0.85 °T to 117.07 ± 0.82 °T during storage. The addition of phytosterol nanoparticles increased the apparent viscosity from 0.68 ± 0.01 Pa s to 0.72 ± 0.02 Pa s and the G* from 80.01 ± 5.50 Pa to 91.80 ± 1.99 Pa, resulting in thicker and more elastic texture. Phytosterol nanoparticle improves the dispersion and stability of phytosterols in yogurt, thus making it stable to be added to yogurt. Fe₂(SO₄)₃ is a suitable catalyst for the methyl esterification reaction of rice bran oil deodorized distillates, and the addition of rice bran phytosterol nanoparticles to yogurt can enhance its texture and nutritional value, offering a promising strategy for producing high value-added products from rice bran.

This article reports on the preparation of native/waxy corn starch (NCS/WCS)-based films with the addition of pullulan (PUL). Our study investigated the effects of varying amounts of PUL and amylose contents on the structure, mechanical and physicochemical properties of corn starch films. Notably, it was observed that WCS films with low amylose content exhibited superior transparency, while NCS films with high amylose content demonstrated enhanced tensile strength (up to 7.35 ± 0.18 MPa). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis indicated that the addition of PUL did not change the molecular interactions within the corn starch films. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results supported that the WCS films were amorphous, while the NCS film exhibited B-type and V-type crystals. Moreover, an increase in PUL content led to a gradual reduction in the crystallinity of both WCS films and NCS films. The addition of PUL improved the mechanical properties and oxygen barrier characteristics of these films but had an adverse impact on their water vapor barrier properties. These findings offer valuable insights for the selection of additives for corn starch film, which can further enhance the practical application potential of corn starch films in food and other industries.

The yield and properties of banana juice extracted by enzymatic pretreatments using different enzymes and were compared among themselves and with hot water extraction. The treatments that gave higher yield and better properties of the juices were used for winemaking and the properties of the wines were also compared. A comparison of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis was also done between the juices and the wines. The various treatments were hot water bath extraction and different enzymes (amylase, cellulase, pectinase, and viscozyme) at two concentrations (0.05% and 0.1%). Juice yield, total soluble sugars, pH, titrable acidity, reducing sugars, and transmittance were analyzed. Best results for juice recovery (46.44 ± 0.50%), total soluble solids (14.8 ± 0.01 °Brix), and transmittance (86.93 ± 2.68%) were achieved using pectinase (0.1%), while viscozyme (0.1%) yielded best results for viscosity (1.49 ± 0.09 mPa.s), pH (5.01 ± 0.05), and acidity (0.277 ± 0.01%). The banana juices from these treatments were then used for wine preparation, and the physicochemical parameters were monitored during a 30-day storage period. Within 20 days during fermentation, a reduction in total soluble solids from 22 °Brix to 6.1 °Brix was observed. Juice from banana pulp can be successfully extracted using the enzymes pectinase and viscozyme, and wine can be prepared from the enzymatically extracted juices.