Current Research in Food Science最新文献

To improve the packaging properties of pea protein isolate (PPI) films, 2 wt% of essential oil (EO) from garlic, ginger, or cinnamon was individually incorporated into the films. The film properties were evaluated after the addition of EOs. The resulting PPI active films were applied to salmon to explore their efficacy in a real food system. The results indicated that the moisture content (MC), total soluble matter (TSM), water vapor permeability (WVP), water contact angle (WCA), tensile strength (TS), and elongation at break (EAB) of PPI film decreased after adding EOs, with the extent of the decrease varying based on the type of oil. SEM images revealed that the distribution of EOs within the film matrix differed: garlic EO was mainly distributed within the internal structure, while ginger and cinnamon EOs were primarily on the surface. FTIR analysis confirmed the interactions between PPI and EOs. When applied to salmon, garlic EO and ginger EO promoted lipid oxidation, whereas cinnamon EO significantly delayed it. Although PPI-based active films containing garlic or cinnamon EOs showed remarkable antibacterial activity in vitro, they did not inhibit bacterial growth in salmon. Additionally, EOs in active films may notably alter the color and sensory properties of salmon, potentially influencing consumer acceptance. Our findings demonstrated that the EO type is a key factor in influencing the properties of edible films. More importantly, the effectiveness of active films is closely related to the specific food system in which they are applied.

Several studies have described the effects of chitosan as an ingredient in bread, particularly from a technological and functional point of view. However, these studies mainly focus on breads produced at lab scale with a short shelf life, which may not reflect the changes occurring in industrial production. Our study investigated the potential of using chitosan at an industrial scale to produce soft white bread, evaluating its impact on the final product's shelf life and providing deeper insights into the practical possibilities and limitations of its scalability. In particular, the rheological properties of the dough and the overall qualitative characteristics of the breads were evaluated when chitosan was used at 0.75 and 1.5%. The use of chitosan in bread dough increased its viscoelasticity, firmness and extensibility, making the dough more elastic but harder to mold and process industrially (extension resistance: 41.70 for 1.5% chitosan vs 22.55 for the control). Chitosan breads exhibited higher pH, aw (1.5%: 0.955 vs control: 0.934), firmness and a larger pore size, with a lower cut height and a more pronounced colour due to increased Maillard reactions. Microbiologically, the chitosan breads were within acceptable limits (<4 and 3 log CFU/g for aerobic mesophilic bacteria and yeasts, respectively) but showed no effect on spoilage microbiota. However, the addition of chitosan increased the prebiotic activity of the bread, as assessed by its ability to promote the growth of selected probiotics in simulated intestinal fluid, which has the potential to positively impact consumers' gut health.

There is an enormous demand to develop new sources of proteins, mainly to supply the growing plant-based food market worldwide, with the push for more sustainable and healthier products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the composition and the nutritional properties of commercial soybean, pea, and fava bean protein ingredients and compare them with an in-house ingredient (flour and protein concentrate), obtained from the main Brazilian cultivar of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, Pinto bean). The protein content of the common bean concentrate (79.75%) was as high as other commercial proteins isolated from the pea and higher than the others concentrates. All the ingredients presented the minimum amounts of indispensable amino acids as required by FAO and all ingredients were rich in lysine and leucine, with the highest amounts found for pea (78.06 mg/g) and common bean (86.70 mg/g) concentrates. A diverse mineral composition was reported for all the ingredients and the common bean concentrate presented the highest iron content (342.6 mg/kg). In terms of antinutritional factors, the common bean flour and concentrate showed the highest values for trypsin inhibitor (18 and 27 TIU/mg, respectively) but the lowest ones for phytic acid (9 and 2 mg/g, respectively) compared to the other ingredients. Low amounts of oligosaccharides were found in most of the samples. All proteins from the ingredients were highly digested when evaluated in vitro, but phaseolins fraction protein from common bean samples remained partially undigested. Despite compositional differences between ingredients, all samples should be suitable as protein sources for plant-based food innovation.

The study assessed a developed food-safe on-package label as a real-time spoilage indicator for fish fillets. This colorimetric sensor is sensitive to Total Volatile Base Nitrogen (TVB-N) levels, providing a correct indication of fish freshness and spoilage. This study evaluates and predicts the shelf-life and effectiveness of an on-package colorimetric indicator. The sensor, using black rice (BC) dye with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and citric acid (CA) as binders and crosslinking agents, is applied to PET films. The food-safe pH indicator, prepared via lab-scale flexography printing, is durable in humid environments, making it suitable for practical packaging scenarios. The sensor visibly monitored fish spoilage at 4 °C for 9 days. Quality assessment included tracking ΔRGB (total color difference), chemical (TVB-N, pH), and microbiological analyses. Results indicate that the fish samples are fresh up to 4 days of storage at 4 °C; the total viable count (TVC), Pseudomonas growth, TVB-N contents and pH reached: 5.2 (log CFU/ml), 4.31(log CFU/ml), 26.22 (mg N/100 gr sample) and 7.48, respectively. Integrating colorimetric sensor data with mathematical modeling can predict spoilage trends over time. Integrated system offers a smart approach to accurately predicting shelf-life, aiding in optimizing storage conditions, minimizing food waste, and delivering fresh, high-quality fish products to consumers.

Oat-based liquid and semi-solid dairy alternatives require extractable proteins for nutritional and technological purposes. However, oats are industrially heat treated ('kilned') to inactivate endogenous lipases thereby avoiding rancidity development. Such heat treatment results in a protein extractability decrease. We here investigated the possibility of directing oat groat heat treatment conditions [oat groat moisture content (13.0-20.0%), heating temperature (80-100 °C) and heating time (15-45 min)] on a lab-scale to achieve complete enzyme inactivation, with peroxidase activity as a marker, while maintaining high protein extractability. Non-heat-treated and industrially heat-treated oats were included as reference samples. The peroxidase activity and protein extractability of lab-scale heat-treated oats decreased with an increase in moisture content, heating temperature and time. Several lab-scale heat-treated oats for which complete peroxidase inactivation was observed, had significantly higher protein extractabilities (31-59%) than industrially kilned oats (21%). The activity of endogenous lipases was determined for a selected sample set. Lipases required milder heat treatment conditions for complete inactivation than peroxidases. Such milder heat treatment led to samples with protein extractabilities between 31 and 65%. A notable observation was that heat treating oats (≥90 °C) caused clumping of the intracellular material of the aleurone cells, likely due to protein aggregation. The main conclusion of this study is that oat heat treatment conditions can be altered successfully to achieve complete enzyme inactivation while maintaining high protein extractability. The obtained insights could lead to the development of oat-based products with higher protein content and desired shelf stability.

Due to the structural diversity and complex mechanisms of action of bioactive peptides, screening for specific functional peptides is often challenging. To efficiently screen bioactive peptides with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects from bovine hemoglobin, we employed bioinformatics methods to perform virtual enzymatic hydrolysis using online tools and predicted the bioactivity, toxicity, and sensitization scores of the resulting peptides. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations with Keap1 and TLR4 were subsequently conducted to screen for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory peptides. Finally, peptides ARRF and ARNF were synthesized using the Fmoc solid-phase method. The oxidative stress and inflammation model in RAW264.7 cells was induced using lipopolysaccharide (LPS), followed by treatment with peptides ARRF and ARNF to verify their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The results demonstrated that 529 bovine hemoglobin oligopeptides were produced following virtual enzymatic hydrolysis, of which nine were identified as eligible based on predictions of biological activity, toxicity, solubility, and sensitization. Molecular docking results indicated that the oligopeptides ARNF, QADF, and ARRF exhibited favorable interactions with Keap1, while ARNF, RRF, and ARRF showed strong interactions with TLR4. The primary active sites binding to the Keap1 receptor included Val465, Thr560, and Gly464. The main active sites binding to the TLR4 receptor were Asn309, Asn305, and Glu286. Hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic interactions were identified as the primary modes of interaction between the oligopeptides and the Keap1 and TLR4 receptors. Molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed that the selected bovine hemoglobin peptides could stably bind to Keap1 and TLR4 receptors. Cell experiments demonstrated that ARRF and ARNF effectively ameliorated LPS-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in RAW264.7 cells.

Conclusion: Compared to traditional methods, this study promptly screens bovine hemoglobin antioxidant and anti-inflammatory peptides, offering a novel approach for rapidly identifying food-derived bioactive peptides.

The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are critical determinants of the nutritional quality of fish. To rapidly and non-destructively determine the muscular PUFAs in living fish, an accuracy technique is urgently needed. In this study, we combined skin hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and machine learning (ML) methods to assess the muscular PUFAs contents of common carp. Hyperspectral images of the live fish skin were acquired in the 400-1000 nm spectral range. The spectral data were preprocessed using Savitzky-Golay (SG), multivariate scattering correction (MSC), and standard normal variable (SNV) methods, respectively. The competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) method was applied to extract the optimal wavelengths. With the skin spectra of fish, five ML methods, including the extreme learning machine (ELM), random forest (RF), radial basis function (RBF), back propagation (BP), and least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) methods, were used to predict the PUFAs and EPA + DHA contents. With the spectral data processed with the SG, the RBF model achieved outstanding performance in predicting the EPA + DHA and PUFAs contents, yielding coefficients of determination (R² _P) of 0.9914 and 0.9914, root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.3352 and 0.3346, and mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.2659 and 0.2660, respectively. Finally, the visualization distribution maps under the optimal model would facilitate the direct determination of the fillet PUFAs and EPA + DHA contents. The combination of skin HSI and the optimal ML method would be promising to rapidly select living fish having high muscular PUFAs contents.

Cocoa shell is a by-product generated by the cocoa processing industry, notable for its high content of phenolic compounds and methylxanthines, and recognized for their biological properties. The majority of cocoa phenolic compounds are not absorbed in the small intestine and reach the colon, where they can be catabolized by the gut microbiota, influencing their bioavailability and bioactivity. This research aimed to study the changes that phenolic compounds from cocoa shell flour (CSF) and extract (CSE) undergo during colonic fermentation after gastrointestinal digestion, using an in vitro model and a targeted metabolomics approach. A decrease in the concentration of most parental phenolic compounds was observed, with a simultaneous increase in phenyl-γ-valerolactones, phenylvaleric acids, and phenylpropanoic acids. Benzoic acids, phenylpropanoic acids, phenylacetic acids, and benzaldehydes were the compounds found in the highest concentrations. Additionally, phenolic compounds in CSF were metabolized more slowly than those in CSE. This may be due to the matrix effect that protects the compounds from degradation during colonic fermentation. These findings further support the potential of cocoa shells as a food ingredient rich in phenolic compounds and bioavailable metabolites, which may exert beneficial effects in the colon and at the systemic level.

Polyphenols are the main group of phytochemicals with several biological activities. Due to the adverse effects of conventional solvent extraction methods, innovative extraction techniques have been used as alternatives to overcome these problems. High voltage electric discharge (HVED) is an eco-friendly innovative extraction technique based on the phenomenon of electrical breakdown in water. This technique induces physical and chemical processes, leading to product fragmentation, cellular damage, and liberation of bioactive compounds. HVED treatment can extract polyphenols at lower temperatures and shorter times than the conventional solvent extraction methods. This review summarizes the effect of HVED processing parameters on the recovery and stability of polyphenols from plant sources. Hydroethanolic solutions improve the HVED-assisted extraction of polyphenols compared to water. Moreover, acidic solvents are suitable for the high recovery and protection of polyphenols during electric discharges. This study revealed the efficacy of the HVED technique in extracting polyphenols for their utilization in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Brown rice (BR) has gradually become a new choice for consumers due to its exceptionally nutritional value. Whereas starch retrogradation profoundly reduces its edibility, shelf-life and consumer acceptance, limiting the development of BR and even other starch-based food products. So, it is crucial for controlling the retrogradation properties of brown rice starch (BRS), and which has received significant attention in the food industry. Enzymatic modification is considered as an effective manner to retard starch retrogradation by degrading starch to an appropriate extent. Ganoderma lucidum can secrete various hydrolytic enzymes related to starch hydrolysis, providing a theoretical basis and feasibility for improving the starch retrogradation. Our study delves into characteristic changes of brown rice (BR) and its starch (BRS) when modified by the intracellular enzyme of Ganoderma lucidum, which contains several inhibiting retrogradation enzymes (GlIRE), mainly including α-amylase, β-amylase, and cellulase. GlIRE treatments significantly decreased the setback viscosity to 1544.33 ± 24.01 cP (2 h), diffraction intensities and relative crystallinity to 21.90 ± 0.06% (2 h) and 19.22 ± 0.19% (3 h) as per RVA and XRD analysis, accompanied with more pits and pores in surface morphology. The DSC analysis showed that GlIRE treatments significantly depressed the gelatinization enthalpy to 5.86 ± 0.46 J/g (2 h) and retrogradation enthalpy. FT-IR analysis also indicated the contribution of GlIRE treatments to retard starch retrogradation, including shifting the peaks of 3500 cm^-1-3200 cm^-1 to lower wave numbers and decreasing the transmittance, as well as R₁₀₄₇/R₁₀₂₂ values reducing from 0.87 to 0.73, mainly due to the shortening of starch chain length and the weakening of hydrogen bonding strength between or within the molecular chains. Simultaneously, it aslo found that GlIRE treatments effectively improved the textural properties of BR, with reducing of hardness, chewiness and gumminess, and increasing of adhesiveness. Interestingly, GC-MS analysis showed that GlIRE treatments could also significantly affect the types and contents of volatile compounds in BR. Our study highlights the efficacy of GlIRE in starch retrogradation and rice quality-improvement, showcasing a new expansion of the research and application of G. lucidum and a science-based strategy for developing the edible quality of starch-based food.