While fruit smoothies are widely used to enhance fruit consumption, vegetable based green smoothies have not yet been systematically analyzed for consumer acceptance. Vegetable based green smoothies are often neglected due to their bitter and unpleasant taste or are masked with sweet fruits. This study investigates consumers' liking of 3 different smoothies with equal amounts of bitter lettuce and apple, but different portions of sweet apple juice, resulting in a decreasing bitter-compound-to-sugar ratio. Liking (9-point scales) of odor and taste, flavor perception (check-all-that-apply) and texture (just-about-right scale) were evaluated by 67 consumers. In the sweetest smoothie the descriptor ‘bitter’ was chosen almost 4 times less frequently than in the smoothie with the lowest sugar concentrations (medium effect size; Cohens D: 0.569). Detailed knowledge of bitter masking thresholds may help to balance between bitter masking and limited use of highly caloric ingredients in healthy green smoothies.
Edible filamentous fungi, a source of mycoprotein, are one of the sustainable alternative protein. This study compares protein digestibility (DH%) and amino acid and mineral accessibility in Rhizopus oligosporus cultivated in oat flour (OatRO) or glucose media (GluRO) by using the INFOGEST in vitro digestion protocol. Fungal total amino acids was higher in GluRO (39.0 ± 1.1 % dw) than OatRO (21.8 ± 1.3 % dw) which was also the case for calcium and magnesium content. After completed gastrointestinal digestion, there were no significant differences between GluRO and OatRO regarding DH% (27.21 ± 10.4 % and 29.4 ± 0.5 %), however, GluRO provided significantly higher amino acid accessibility compared to OatRO (64.3 ± 1.6 % and 55.1 ± 3.1 %). Mineral accessibility of GluRO was for Ca: 37.9 ± 1.8 %, Zn: 9.3 ± 0.4 %, Fe: 38.2 ± 1.9 %, Mg: 66.5 ± 1.4 % and Cu: 24.7 ± 1.3 % and for OatRO; Ca: −40.2 ± 2.4 %, Zn: −4.13 ± 0.15 %, Fe:14.6 ± 1.6 %, Mg: 74.5 ± 3.1 %, and Cu: 55.95 ± 0.8 %. Despite the low phytic acid content, OatRO thus showed antinutrient properties with respect to calcium, and zinc, suggesting that oat-derived fungi had antinutrients other than phytic acid. This study hereby revealed that the cultivation substrate affect amino acid and mineral accessibility of filamentous fungi and calls for deeper evaluations of antinutrients in oat-derived fungi.
In order to verify the nutritional and quality properties of gluten-free breads supplemented with flour from cacay seed cake (CF), a mixing design was used, in which part of the rice (R) was replaced with CF and dietary fiber concentrates (DFC) from papaya pulp and peel. The results showed that supplementation of the formulations with CF and DFC produced an increase in the gel strength parameter (S) of the batter before baking, with respect to that of a control formulation (542 vs. 3.1 Pa.sn, respectively). It was also found that there was an improvement in the specific volume (1.598 vs. 1.32 cm3/g), crumb pore diameter (3.4 vs. 2.2 mm), protein content (10.5 vs. 2.6 g/100 g) and total dietary fiber (9.9 vs. 1.2 g/100 g) of the supplement breads (SB) over the control breads (CB). The results of the creep and recovery test parameters, performed on the bread crumb, showed a greater elastic response in the SB, evidenced by a greater recovery of the crumb structure. It is concluded that CF and DFC as ingredients improve the nutritional content of gluten-free baked goods and also that the improvements in specific volume and pore size would be related to dietary fiber.
Food-to-food fortification (FtFF) is gaining traction as a strategy to enhance nutritional value of cereal-based foods. Sorghum, a major food crop for millions in the semi-arid tropics lends itself to such FtFF efforts. Such food-to-food fortified (FtF fortified) foods also contain bioactive phenolics with health-promoting properties in relation to potential protection against diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) whose prevalence is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, the effects of extrusion cooking of sorghum-based porridges FtF fortified with baobab fruit powder and moringa leaf powder on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anti-lipogenic properties were determined.
FtFF porridges showed higher phenolic content (phenolic acids and their esters, flavonoids and their glycosides) and greater radical scavenging properties and reduction in advanced glycation end products (AGEs) compared to unfortified porridges. Extruded instant porridges had lower phenolic content, radical scavenging properties and showed less reduction in AGEs compared to conventionally wet-cooked porridges. All porridges exerted antioxidant effects in Caco-2 cells and FtFF inhibited nitric oxide (NO) formation in RAW 264.7 cells. Extracts from all porridge samples exhibited prevention and reduction of adipocyte formation in 3 T3-L1 cells, indicating anti-lipogenic effects.
FtFF (with moringa and baobab) and extrusion cooking can be used to produce instant porridges from wholegrain sorghums with targeted health-promoting properties to address rising non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
This study highlights the potential of FtFF with tropical plant foodstuffs to improve health-promoting properties of cereal wholegrain-based starchy staple foods.
A headspace solid–phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with quadrupole time-of-flight (GC/MS-QTOF) was developed for analysis of volatile off-odor compounds, i.e., earthy/musty (2-methylisoborneol, 2-MIB) and rancid (aldehydes and alcohols), from farmed hybrid catfish (Clarias macrocephalus × Clarias gariepinus). The most efficient extraction of targeted volatiles was provided by 50 min at 70 °C with a CWR-PDMS fiber and 3 g of fish diluted to 5 mL with 1.5 g NaCl (30 % saturated NaCl). The maximum time-delay before extraction was 8 h to avoid spoilage and lipid oxidation during analysis. The final method showed good linearity, intraday repeatability of 5–9 %, interday reproducibility of 5–12 % and recoveries of 94–112 %. The implementation part proved that the developed method gave accurate quantitative results for oxidation-derived volatiles, several with high correlation to thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Altogether, our study provided an effective SPME-GC–MS method for the extraction and analysis of important off-odor compounds in catfish mince.
This study examined the nutritional, physicochemical, and bioactive compounds in mangosteen grown in southern Thailand from 2022 to 2024, encompassing hilly areas (Nakhon Si Thammarat range, Tenasserim range) and flat lands during both the fruit season and off-season. The influence of coastal regions (Gulf of Thailand and Andaman coast) on mangosteen nutrition was explored. The impact of high-level plantation and harvesting (during the fruit season) on mangosteen size and levels of bioactive compounds with high antioxidant capacity in mangosteen flesh was found to be greater than that of flat plantations (during the off-season). Mangosteens grown in flatlands during the fruit season exhibited brighter flesh color and faster ripening compared to those grown in hilly areas. Mangosteens from these results contained carbohydrates ranging from 10.3% to 16.9%. Mangosteens cultivated along the Andaman coast exhibited elevated levels of minerals (K 349 mg/100 g, Na 7.76 mg/100 g, and Mn 1.63 mg/100 g) and vitamins, especially B2 (0.10 mg/kg), B6 (0.20 mg/kg), B12 (0.03 mg/kg), and vitamin C (9.25 mg/kg). Conversely, the highest total phenolic content, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity were observed in hilly areas during the fruit season along the Gulf of Thailand (55 mg GAE/100 g, 32 mg QE/100 g, and ABTS values of 88%, respectively). However, mangosteens from hilly areas ripened faster than those from flatlands due to higher total soluble solids and lower fruit firmness. These findings provide valuable insights into the effects of the environment and location, enhancing understanding for year-round mangosteen plantation preparation.
The aim of this study was to assess the effects of ultrafiltration (UF) combined with high-pressure processing (HPP) or heat treatment on the quality of yogurts produced from camel milk (CM) or bovine milk (BM). Milk was concentrated by UF (0, 1, and 2-fold) before applying heat (75 °C or 85 °C for 30 min) or HPP (350 MPa or 550 MPa for 5 min). Yogurts were produced using starter cultures (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus subsp. delbrückii) and pH, viscoelastic and thixotropic rheological properties, and protein profiles were determined. Compared to HPP, heat-treated yogurts, especially at 85 °C, exhibited the highest rheological storage and loss moduli signifying stronger gels. Lower storage modulus values in HPP treated CM yogurts were explained by the lack of long-range β-lactoglobulin bridges at micelle surfaces and the reassociation of pressure-dissociated caseins by hydrophobic interactions. Percent structural regeneration, which increased with increasing milk concentration, revealed higher thixotropic behavior in the case of heat- than in HPP-treated samples. SDS-PAGE electrophoresis revealed extensive proteolysis in CM compared to BM yogurts suggesting the involvement of some enzyme activities in the low gel strength.
In this study, vitexin was encapsulated in chitosan microparticles and phytosome nanoparticles, in order to enhance its stability and bioavailability. The effect of types of carrier agents on the pH stability, thermal stability and shelf-life stability of vitexin-loaded particles was investigated. The free vitexin (V) was degraded at pH 7 due to its lowest value of total phenolic content (TPC), whereas vitexin-loaded chitosan microparticles (V-CHM) and vitexin-loaded phytosome nanoparticles (V-PHN) could improve the stability of vitexin at pH 7. After heat treatment at 120 and 150 °C, the V-CHM and V-PHN gave higher release of TPC and antioxidant activity. V-CHM and V-PHN could prolong the release of TPC and antioxidant activity values of vitexin during storage time of 60 days. The results suggest that chitosan microparticles and phytosome nanoparticles has ability to overcome the limitation and enable the application of vitexin.

