Future Foods最新文献

Colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, associated with a high intake of red/processed meat, may be related to hemin. A potential chemopreventive agent, Arthrospira (Spirulina platensis) spp. (AP) is a cyanobacteria employed as a functional food with the potential to reduce malnutrition in developing countries. Thus, we assessed the effects of dietary AP against hemin-promoting effects in a dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colorectal carcinogenesis model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into five groups. G1–G4 received four subcutaneous DMH injections (40 mg/kg body weight, twice a week for 2 weeks) and G5 received DMH vehicle. At weeks 4 to 16, groups were fed a balanced diet (BD, G1 and G5), BD containing 2 % AP (20 g powder/kg chow, G2), BD containing hemin (0.32 g/kg chow, G3) or BD containing hemin+2 % AP (G4), respectively. Hemin group (G3) increased aberrant crypt foci (ACF) development, malondialdehyde (MDA), and Nox-1 levels and reduced glutathione (GSH) and GSH-Px levels in colonic mucosa when compared to DMH group (G1). In contrast, the dietary hemin+2 % AP regimen (G4), reduced both preneoplastic lesion development and MDA levels while increased GSH levels, compared to the DMH+hemin group (G3). Dietary AP may reduce hemin-promoting effects by modulating oxidative stress and ACF lesions.

Rubus fructus, the dried fruit of Rubus chingii Hu, is a versatile medicinal and edible plant. In this review, we used “Rubus chingii” or “Fupengzi” as the keyword and collected relevant information from classical Chinese herbal texts, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, and patent websites. An ethnopharmacological survey shows that R. chingii Hu belongs to a class of Rubus plants known for nourishing the kidneys and liver, consolidating essence, reducing urine, and improving vision. R. chingii is rich in flavonoids, phenolic compounds, terpenes, amino acids, and vitamins. Currently, ellagic acid and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside are used as quality markers of R. chingii. Modern medical research indicates that it has multiple functional activities, including antioxidation/anti-aging, blood glucose regulation, immune enhancement, growth promotion, reproductive support, regulation of intestinal flora, and improvement of gastrointestinal function. Due to its numerous health benefits, various health products such as canned foods, fruit wine, fruit vinegar, beverages, teas, jams, and other foods have been developed worldwide. In summary, this review provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, quality control, functions, and food application of R. chingii, contributing to the advancement of health food and medical development related to this plant.

While fungus-resistant grape varieties (FRGVs) offer comprehensive sustainable benefits, their slow adoption and consumer preferences warrant investigation. Therefore, a discrete choice model for key parameters influencing consumer perceptions, including product attributes, pricing, grape variety preferences, labelling and information dissemination, was constructed based on a representative sample of 1276 wine consumers in Germany. The data were analysed using a conditional logit utility model to gain insights into the preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) of each product attribute. Due to the low level of awareness of these grape varieties, the sample was divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group, which was conditioned prior to the study to investigate the market potential of FRGVs. The results show that the conditioned group exhibited a stronger inclination towards FRGVs, indicating an increased awareness of environmentally friendly practices. Price sensitivity was influenced by conditioning, with consumers being more sensitive to higher prices after being informed. The study highlights the importance of informed consumer education in promoting environmentally sustainable products like wine from FRGVs.

Plant-based analogues (PBAs) for meat and dairy are typically categorised as ultra-processed foods. However, current evidence that PBA consumption negatively impacts health is controversial. As such, these products may be inappropriately negatively coloured by the “processed foods are unhealthy” heuristic. We investigated the strength of this heuristic among Swedish consumers and explored its impact on perceived healthiness within different food categories (meat, dairy, seafood, vegetables/legumes, and PBAs). In an online experiment, participants (N=563) rated the healthiness and level of processing of 24 food products (presented as images), completed the food technology neophobia (FTN) scale, and reported consumption frequency of different foods. The results indicated that this heuristic, measured as Pearson's r between perceived healthiness and level of processing, was prevalent and robust (posterior mean = -0.58, probability of association>99 %) as well as stronger among women and individuals with higher FTN. Moreover, the impact of the heuristic differed across food categories: healthiness ratings for vegetable/legume and seafood products perceived as processed were more negatively impacted compared to those for meat products (probability of association>99 %). The potential implications of this for the protein shift and encouraging substituting red meat with products based on raw materials associated with health (i.e., plants and seafood) are discussed.

Various factors influence the purchases of meat products by consumers, and their final purchasing behavior has a temporal and logical relationship with their willingness to buy. Such willingness is an effective indicator of purchasing behavior. In this study, sensory appeal, brand loyalty, price, consumer reviews, consumer preferences, and the personal characteristics of consumers (e.g., gender, age, and income) were selected as the antecedent variables. Data from 5,981 consumers were collected through an online questionnaire. The path configurations that caused consumers to have high and low purchase intentions for mutton shashliks were analyzed using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The major causes that lead consumers to the two choices of purchasing or not purchasing were identified. The findings show that there is a causal asymmetric relationship between customers' desire to purchase meat items and the factors influencing them. As a multifaceted outcome variable, consumer preference traits and cost are the primary determinants of the high purchase intention to buy mutton shashlik, with income and sensory appeal having a lesser effect. Furthermore, factors such as brand loyalty, consumer reviews, gender, and age worked in conjunction with the main factors that influenced or hindered consumers' purchase intentions.

Identifying novel risk-resilient diets is urgent to address food insecurity and tackle global hunger and malnutrition. This study evaluated the suitability of mesquite (Neltuma spp.) pod flours as food staples for human nourishment and compared nutritional properties of mesquites growing natively or as introduced species in the drylands of Mexico, Kenya and Tanzania. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, we analysed chemical composition, dietary fibre, antinutrients, amino acids and fatty acids of pod flours from Neltuma laevigata, N. laevigata $\times$ N. odorata and N. velutina (abundant native species of Northern Mexico). We also studied the introduced N. juliflora from Kenya, and N. pallida from Tanzania which have become invasive. This research demonstrates that mesquite flour contains all the essential amino acids, with the highest being valine, leucine and lysine. The most abundant non-essential amino acids are aspartate, glutamate and proline. Mesquite flours are rich in palmitic, oleic and linolenic acids. Besides this, mesquite flour is abundant in phenols and contains less gallic and phytic acids than wheat. We show that nutritionally, mesquite flours are comparable to wheat flour. These findings demonstrate that Neltuma pod flours are excellent candidates to reduce malnutrition and hunger for the poorest people of the world.

Edible insects are a promising source of bioactive compounds with diverse health benefits. This study investigated the immunomodulatory properties of polysaccharides isolated from Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae (PBSL). Polysaccharides were fractionated using a molecular weight cutoff membrane, and among these fractions, the higher molecular weight fraction (H-PBSL, 666.84 kDa) demonstrated significant immunomodulatory activity. Methylation and NMR structural analyses revealed H-PBSL to be an acidic heteroglycan with a complex structure, consisting of a backbone of repeating (1→4)-linked α-glucan units highly branched at O-6 positions with T-α-Glcp, T-α-GlcpA, and T-β-Galp. The immunomodulatory effects of H-PBSL were evaluated using RAW264.7 macrophage cells. H-PBSL treatment enhanced phagocytic activity and increased the expression of immune modulators and macrophage activation surface molecules. In addition, H-PBSL activated the NF-κB signaling pathway, evidenced by increased phosphorylation of IκB and NF-κB, and translocation of NF-κB from cytosol to nucleus. Moreover, inhibition of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) reduced H-PBSL-induced nitric oxide synthesis, indicating TLR4′s pivotal role in H-PBSL-mediated macrophage activation. These findings highlight the potential of H-PBSL as a novel immunomodulatory agent derived from an edible insect, with possible applications in functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Excessive levels of sodium consumption over the recommended human daily intake level is a global issue. Developing novel low-sodium products to address this issue is challenging. Moreover, there is little research on the use of stealth reduction approaches in reduced sodium seasoned green mussel, representing an additional opportunity for advancement in developing novel products in the seafood processing industry. Thus, this study aimed to develop a seasoned green mussel (Perna viridis) product with a reduced sodium content. The study consisted of two parts: The first part studied two types mussel seasonings (‘Pad-char’; PC and ‘Prik-Pao’; PP) with various sodium reduction levels (30, 70, or 100 %). The difference in taste profiles was confirmed using an electronic tongue technique and consumer acceptance trial. Green mussels seasoned with PC were preferred over those seasoned with PP. Green mussels seasoned with PC at a 30 % sodium reduction level (PC-30 %) received the second highest overall liking score, following the standard, and had a sodium content of 623.80 mg/100 g. Furthermore, PC-30 % was rich in other essential nutrients such as protein and vitamin A. The second aim was to study the shelf-life of the PC-30 % products with storage at 4 ± 1ºC for 12 days. During storage, the PC-30 % sample developed a tough texture, as indicated by higher hardness and chewiness values, along with increased pH and total volatile-based nitrogen. The microbial loads indicated that the shelf-life of the PC-30 % product stored at 4 ± 1ºC was 9 days. This suggests that reducing sodium in mussels through seasoning is feasible while maintaining acceptable sensory scores, but shelf-life challenges must be addressed before bringing these products to market.

Nowadays, food production systems play a relevant role as the steady increase of global population and food demand. The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is a suitable approach to tackle resources management associated with these three pillars recognizing synergies and trade-offs. Different approaches have been used in the literature to measure the WEF nexus, being material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA), two of the most proven methodologies. The MFA approach is based on the amount of resources consumed, while using the LCA perspective considers all flows of the system (LCA footprints approach) or considering only the flows associated with water, energy, and food pillars as the inventory data (WEF-LCA approach). This manuscript compares the three mentioned approaches to identify their strengths and weaknesses. To do this, a sample of 100 Spanish dairy farms is analysed, where a single WEF nexus index (WEFni) is obtained using Data Envelopment Analysis. Results show that only four farms achieved a WEFni equal to 100 in all approaches, while the main difference between them is the number and type of resources considered for calculating the WEF nexus, which could imply a partial identification of hotspots of food systems.

This study seeks to explore alternatives by substituting or reducing the conventional 10% serum concentration in zebrafish embryonic stem cell (ESC) growth media with protein hydrolysates sourced from peas, mushrooms, yeast, and algae. Notably, algae exhibited the highest protein content, optimal amino acid balance, and favorable functional properties. When applied at concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 mg/mL, all protein hydrolysates demonstrated pro-apoptotic effects and inhibited cell growth, particularly when used in conjunction with 10% serum. However, concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 0.1 mg/mL displayed anti-apoptotic properties and promoted cell proliferation. The study found that media containing 1% or 2.5% serum, along with 0.01 mg/mL of protein hydrolysates, supported cell growth effectively. Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) Activity served as an indicator of cell health and integrity under the specified conditions of protein hydrolysate supplementation. Cells cultured in serum-free media exhibited significantly decreased cell membrane integrity (P < 0.05) compared to those in regular media or media containing low serum (1% and 2.5%) along with low concentrations (0.01 mg/mL) of protein hydrolysates. Furthermore, analysis of Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG) suggested that media formulations containing 1% serum combined with low concentrations of protein hydrolysates present a sustainable approach for cell-based seafood production.