Foods最新文献

This review contributes to the knowledge on the complex and adaptive microbial ecosystems within cheese, emphasizing their critical role in determining cheese quality, flavor, and safety. This review synthesizes the current knowledge on the microbial interactions and the dynamics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), encompassing both starter (SLAB) and non-starter (NSLAB) strains, which are pivotal to the curd fermentation and ripening processes. The adaptability of these microbial consortia to environmental and technological stressors is explored, highlighting their contributions to acidification, proteolysis, and the development of distinctive organoleptic characteristics. Historical and technological perspectives on cheesemaking are also discussed, detailing the impact of milk treatment, starter culture selection, and post-renneting procedures on microbial activity and biochemical transformations. This review underscores the importance of microbial diversity and cooperative interactions in fostering ecosystem resilience and metabolic functionality, and it addresses the challenges in mimicking the technological performance of natural starters using selected cultures. By understanding the ecological roles and interactions of cheese microbiota, this review aims to guide improvements in cheese production practices. Additionally, these insights could spark the development of innovative strategies for microbial community management.

Microencapsulation using a double emulsion system can improve the viability of probiotic cells during storage and digestion. In this study, a double emulsion system W_C/O/W_F was designed to microencapsulate Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG using pea protein (PP) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) at various proportions, and the effect of their proportions on the stability and efficacy of the encapsulation system was studied. The double emulsions were prepared by a two-step emulsification process: the internal aqueous phase containing probiotic strain (W_C) was homogenized into the oil phase (O), which was then homogenized into the external aqueous phase (W_F) containing 15% wall materials with varying proportions of PP and CNCs [F1 (100:0), F2 (96:4), F3 (92:8), F4 (88:12), F5 (84:16), F6 (80:20)]. The incorporation of CNCs significantly lowered the average particle size and improved the stability of the emulsions. The encapsulation efficiency did not differ significantly across the tested formulations (63-68%). To check the effectiveness of the designed system, a simulated digestion study was conducted in two phases: gastric phase and intestinal phase. The double emulsion microencapsulation significantly improved the viability of encapsulated cells during digestion compared against free cells. Microscopic analysis along with assessment of protein hydrolysis of the double emulsions during the simulated digestion demonstrated a two-stage protection mechanism. This study presented promising results for employing a double emulsion system for the microencapsulation of probiotics and the potential of PP and CNCs in designing such systems.

The development of plant-based seafood alternatives with authentic flavour profiles remains a significant challenge, limiting their appeal to seafood consumers. This study hypothesised that incorporation of flavour precursors including free amino acids, betaine, and long chain omega-3 fatty acids would enhance the flavour resemblance of plant-based prawn and salmon prototypes to their authentic seafood counterparts. Prototypes were analysed using headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and evaluated by a semi-trained sensory panel. Volatile analysis revealed 64 compounds across prototypes, with significant variations attributed to precursor combinations and thermal treatments. Frying enhanced volatile profiles, particularly in plant-based prawn prototypes fortified with all three flavour precursors, producing key prawn odourants, including pyrazines and trimethylamine. Notably, betaine pyrolysis under moderate cooking conditions was demonstrated as a potential pathway for trimethylamine formation, contributing to fish-like odours. Sensory evaluation showed that the final plant-based prawn prototype exhibited strong cooked crustacean and grilled notes, aligning with the observed volatile profile. While the salmon prototype displayed key salmon odourants, its cooked salmon odour was less pronounced, suggesting a need for a more robust flavouring strategy. This study highlights the potential of targeted flavour precursor formulations to improve the flavour quality of plant-based seafood alternatives, paving the way for their wider acceptance.

The Clean Label concept has gained significant traction in the cheese industry due to consumer preferences for minimally processed cheeses free from synthetic additives. This review explores different approaches for applying Clean Label principles to the cheese industry while maintaining food safety, sensory quality, and shelf life. Non-thermal technologies, such as high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric fields (PEF), ultra-violet (UV), and visible light (VL), are among the most promising methods that effectively control microbial growth while preserving the nutritional and functional properties of cheese. Protective cultures, postbiotics, and bacteriophages represent microbiological strategies that are natural alternatives to conventional preservatives. Another efficient approach involves plant extracts, which contribute to microbial control, and enhance cheese functionality and potential health benefits. Edible coatings, either alone or combined with other methods, also show promising applications. Despite these advantages, several challenges persist: higher costs of production and technical limitations, possible shorter shelf-life, and regulatory challenges, such as the absence of standardized Clean Label definitions and compliance complexities. Further research is needed to develop and refine Clean Label formulations, especially regarding bioactive peptides, sustainable packaging, and advanced microbial control techniques. Addressing these challenges will be essential for expanding Clean Label cheese availability while ensuring product quality and maintaining consumer acceptance.

This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of Pseudomonas with varying adhesion capabilities to Tilapia's intestinal mucus influence the spoilage potential of Tilapia. Sodium chloride(NaCl) was used as an environmental factor to regulate Pseudomonas' adhesion ability. After being exposed to 3.5% NaCl stress, the PS01 strain with low adhesion showed an enhancement in adhesion ability, while the LP-3 strain with high adhesion exhibited a decrease. Correspondingly, the expression of critical adhesion genes, such as flgC, fliC, and cheB, was found to be altered. LP-3, with high adhesion ability, was observed to promote a relative increase in Nocardioides and Cloacibacterium in fish intestines. This led to the production of more volatile compounds, including 2-octen-1-ol Z, 2,3-Octanedione, and Eicosane, thus deepening the spoilage of tilapia. LP-3, with reduced adhesion ability after NaCl regulation, showed a diminished capacity to cause fish spoilage. Transcriptomics analysis was used to examine two Pseudomonas strains that exhibited different adhesion abilities, leading to the identification of an adhesion regulatory network involving flagellar assembly regulation, bacterial chemotaxis, quorum sensing, two-component systems, biofilm formation, and bacterial secretion systems. This study identified the Pseudomonas adhesion regulatory pathway and determined 10 key adhesion-related genes.

Douchi is a traditional Chinese fermented soybean product. In the Sichuan-Chongqing region, Mucor-type douchi was particularly famous for its distinctive flavor. Nevertheless, the association between microorganisms and douchi flavor is still poorly understood. In this study, high-throughput sequencing, amino acid analysis, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to investigate the bacterial and fungal profiles as well as the flavor compounds (sixteen amino acids and one-hundred volatile flavor compounds) of seven different types of douchi. High levels of glutamic and aspartic acids were observed. Microbial analysis found that Bacillus, Tetragenococcus, Weissella, Aspergillus, Mucor, and Penicillium were the prime microorganisms. In total, 100 volatile components were detected; however, none of them was common to all the douchi products, although most volatile components had the aromas of flowers, fruits, caramel, and cocoa. An analysis of the flavor compounds was conducted using two-way orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (O2PLS-DA). Based on the analysis, it was found that Glu had negative correlations with most microorganisms, and Aspergillus had positive correlations with 2-pentylfuran and phenylacetaldehyde. This study provides a theoretical foundation for the regulation and enhancement of douchi flavor.

Red jujube is a nutritious food, known as the "king of all fruits". The quality of Chinese red jujube is closely associated with its place of origin. To classify Chinese red jujube more correctly, based on the combination of adaptive boosting (Adaboost) and common vectors linear discriminant analysis (CLDA), Adaboost-CLDA was proposed to classify the near-infrared (NIR) spectra of red jujube samples. In the study, the NIR-M-R2 spectrometer was employed to scan red jujube from four different origins to acquire their NIR spectra. Savitzky-Golay filtering was used to preprocess the spectra. CLDA can effectively address the "small sample size" problem, and Adaboost-CLDA can achieve an extremely high classification accuracy rate; thus, Adaboost-CLDA was performed for feature extraction from the NIR spectra. Finally, K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and Bayes served as the classifiers for the identification of red jujube samples. Experiments indicated that Adaboost-CLDA achieved the highest identification accuracy in this identification system for red jujube compared with other feature extraction algorithms. This demonstrates that the combination of Adaboost-CLDA and NIR spectroscopy significantly enhances the classification accuracy, providing an effective method for identifying the geographical origin of Chinese red jujube.

Emerging evidence links depressive disorders to the gut microbiota via the gut-brain axis. Probiotics, which are microorganisms that modulate the gut microbiota, have shown promising results in alleviating depression and are increasingly recognized as functional food components with potential health benefits. This study examines the effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum GOLDGUT-HNU082 (Lp082), a probiotic strain with potential applications in functional foods, on chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression in mice. Behavioral tests, measurements of the neurotransmitters and inflammatory cytokines in the serum and colon tissue, and the metagenomic sequencing of the gut microbiota were used to investigate potential mechanisms. The results demonstrated that Lp082 significantly alleviated depressive-like behaviors in CUMS mice, restored the balance of key neurotransmitters like serotonin (5-HT), reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α, and enhanced brain neuroplasticity by promoting hippocampal neurogenesis. Additionally, Lp082 altered the composition of the gut microbiota in CUMS mice and promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium, improving metabolic pathways related to neurotransmitter synthesis. These findings indicate that Lp082, as a potential functional food ingredient, alleviates depressive-like behaviors in mice by reshaping the gut microbiota, offering new insights into the use of probiotics in functional foods for mental health management.

Consumers prefer mung beans for their low allergenicity and nutritional benefits. However, flavour development in mung bean foods has been problematic, with beany flavour being a limiting factor. Hot processing is crucial in forming mung bean flavours, and storage-induced changes in flavour precursors directly impact the taste post-processing. This study used metabolomics to analyse the effects of hot processing (baking and cooking) on mung bean flavour and differences after storage. A total of 131 flavour precursors and 45 volatile substances were identified across six sample groups. The results showed that baking and cooking upregulated 22 and 18 volatile substances (ketones, aldehydes, esters, pyridine, pyrazines, etc.), respectively. The Maillard reaction during baking notably increased compounds like 2-hydroxypyridine, 2-methoxy-3-isobutyl pyrazine, 1,2-hexanedione, and 2,3-butanedione. Both methods inhibited linoleic acid oxidation, significantly reducing hexanal content, a key "bean" odour substance. However, storage accelerated linoleic acid conversion to C13 peroxides, increasing hexanal content and bean odour. This process decreased precursor substances like glucose-1-phosphate and caused the accumulation of pyruvic acid intermediates in pentose phosphate and pyruvate metabolism/amino acid metabolism pathways, leading to reduced mung bean taste richness.

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are present in trace amounts in the environment, from where they enter animal- and plant-derived food products. Long-term exposure to low-dose drugs poses a risk to human health and increases the pressure on antibiotic selection. Based on previous aptamer screening with high FQs specificity, this study combined a new aptamer recognition probe with a metal-organic framework (MOF) to obtain a sample pretreatment composite material with strong FQs specificity for multi-target analysis. Residual FQs were extracted from the complex food matrix via magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction and examined using high-performance liquid chromatography. The method showed good linearity in a range of 0.39 to 200 µg/kg for five FQs in milk and fish samples, with a detection limit of 0.04-0.10 µg/kg and a quantitative limit of 0.13-0.33 µg/kg. This study successfully developed an effective sample pretreatment material and methodology for trace FQs identification in complex animal-derived food matrices.