Advances in Food and Nutrition Research最新文献

Olive (Olea europaea) is a native species from the Mediterranean region and widely cultivated for its edible fruit, known as olives. Olives are a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, and polyphenols, and have been shown to have various health benefits. They are commonly used for cooking and are also employed in cosmetics and the pharmaceutical industry. The extract obtained from olive fruits and several subproducts of the olive industry has demonstrated several biological activities mainly associated with their antioxidant and inflammatory properties. Thus, olives, olive-derived products, and subproducts of the olive industry have gained popularity in recent years due to their potential health benefits and their use in traditional medicine. The present chapter summarizes the main applications of Olea europaea and olive oil processing by-products as therapeutic agents against cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and antimicrobial agents.

Worldwide, there has been growing interest in the research, development, and commercialization of functional bioactive components and nutraceuticals. As a result of consumer awareness of the relationship between diet, health, and disease, the consumption of plant-derived bioactive components has recently increased in the past two decades. Phytochemicals are bioactive nutrient plant chemicals in fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plant foods that may provide desirable health benefits beyond essential nutrition. They may reduce the risk of major chronic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and psychotic diseases and have antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties, cholesterol-lowering, antithrombotic, or anti-inflammatory effects. Phytochemicals have been recently studied and explored for various purposes, such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, fragrances, coloring agents, biopesticides, and food additives. These compounds are known as secondary metabolites and are commonly classified as polyphenols, terpenoids (terpenes), tocotrienols and tocopherols, carotenoids, alkaloids and other nitrogen-containing metabolites, stilbenes and lignans, phenolic acids, and glucosinates. Thus, this chapter aims to define the general chemistry, classification, and essential sources of phytochemicals, as well as describe the potential application of phytochemicals in the food and nutraceuticals industry, explaining the main properties of interest of the different compounds. Finally, the leading technologies involving micro and nanoencapsulation of phytochemicals are extensively detailed to protect them against degradation and enhance their solubility, bioavailability, and better applicability in the pharmaceutical, food, and nutraceutical industry. The main challenges and perspectives are detailed.

Plastics and related contaminants (including microplastics; MPs and nanoplastics; NPs) have become a serious global safety issue due to their overuse in many products and applications and their inadequate management, leading to possible leakage into the environment and eventually to the food chain and humans. There is a growing literature reporting on the occurrence of plastics, (MPs and NPs) in both marine and terrestrial organisms, with many indications about the harmful impact of these contaminants on plants and animals, as well as potential human health risks. The presence of MPs and NPs in many foods and beverages including seafood (especially finfish, crustaceans, bivalves, and cephalopods), fruits, vegetables, milk, wine and beer, meat, and table salts, has become popular research areas in recent years. Detection, identification, and quantification of MPs and NPs have been widely investigated using a wide range of traditional methods, such as visual and optical methods, scanning electron microscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, but these methods are burdened with a number of limitations. In contrast, spectroscopic techniques, especially Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, and other emerging techniques, such as hyperspectral imaging are increasingly being applied due to their potential to enable rapid, non-destructive, and high-throughput analysis. Despite huge research efforts, there is still an overarching need to develop reliable analytical techniques with low cost and high efficiency. Mitigation of plastic pollution requires establishing standard and harmonized methods, adopting holistic approaches, and raising awareness and engaging the public and policymakers. Therefore, this chapter focuses mainly on identification and quantification techniques of MPs and NPs in different food matrices (mostly seafood).

The occurrence of nano/microplastics (N/MPs) has become a global concern due to their risk on the aquatic environment, food webs and ecosystems, thus, potentially affecting human health. This chapter focuses on the most recent evidence about the occurrence of N/MPs in the most consumed wild and farmed edible species, the occurrence of N/MPs in humans, the potential impact of N/MPs on human health as well as future research recommendations for assessing N/MPs in wild and farmed edible species. Additionally, the N/MP particles in human biological samples, which include the standardization of methods for collection, characterization, and analysis of N/MPs that might allow evaluating the potential risk of the intake of N/MPs in human health, are discussed. Thus, the chapter consequently includes relevant information about the content of N/MPs of more than 60 edible species such as algae, sea cucumber, mussels, squids, crayfish, crabs, clams, and fishes.

As one of the most consumed non-alcoholic beverages in the world, tea is acclaimed for its pleasant flavor and various health benefits. Different types of tea present a distinctive flavor and bioactivity due to the changes in the composition and proportion of respective compounds. This article aimed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of tea flavor (including aroma and taste) and the character of tea in preventing and alleviating diseases. The recent advanced modern analytical techniques for revealing flavor components in tea, including enrichment, identification, quantitation, statistics, and sensory evaluation methodologies, were summarized in the following content. Besides, the role of tea in anti-cancer, preventing cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, anti-aging and neuroprotection, and regulating gut microbiota was also listed in this article. Moreover, questions and outlooks were mentioned to objectify tea products' flavor quality and health benefits on a molecular level and significantly promote our understanding of the comprehensive value of tea as a satisfactory health beverage in the future.

Lipids play a fundamental role, both structurally and functionally, for the correct functioning of the organism. In the last two decades, they have evolved from molecules involved only in energy storage to compounds that play an important role as components of cell membranes and signaling molecules that regulate cell homeostasis. For this reason, their interest as compounds involved in human health has been gaining weight. Indeed, lipids derived from dietary sources and endogenous biosynthesis are relevant for the pathophysiology of numerous diseases. There exist pathological conditions that are characterized by alterations in lipid metabolism. This is particularly true for metabolic diseases, such as liver steatosis, type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The main issue to be considered is lipid homeostasis. A precise control of fat homeostasis is required for a correct regulation of metabolic pathways and safe and efficient energy storage in adipocytes. When this fails, a deregulation occurs in the maintenance of systemic metabolism. This happens because an increased concentrations of lipids impair cellular homeostasis and disrupt tissue function, giving rise to lipotoxicity. Fat accumulation results in many alterations in the physiology of the affected organs, mainly in metabolic tissues. These alterations include the activation of oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, increased inflammation, accumulation of bioactive molecules and modification of gene expression. In this chapter, we review the main metabolic diseases in which alterations in lipid homeostasis are involved and discuss their pathogenic mechanisms.

Food preservation technologies face the challenge of extending product shelf life applying different factors to prevent the microbiological spoilage of food and inhibit/inactivate food borne pathogens maintaining or even enhancing its quality. One such preservation strategy is the application of bacteriocins or bacteriocin-producer cultures as a kind of food biopreservation. Bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesized small polypeptide molecules that exert antagonistic activity against closely related and unrelated bacteria without harming the producing strain by specific immunity proteins. This chapter aims to contribute to current knowledge about innovative natural preservative agents and their application in the food industry. Specifically, its purpose is to analyze the classification of bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria (LAB), desirable characteristics of bacteriocins that position them in a privileged place in food biopreservation technology, their success story as well as the bacteriocinogenic LAB in various food systems. Finally, challenges and barrier strategies used to enhance the efficiency of the bacteriocins antimicrobial effect are presented in this chapter.

Food by-product valorization has become an important research area for promoting the sustainability of the food chain. Citrus fruits are among the most widely cultivated fruit crops worldwide. Citrus by-products, including pomace, seeds, and peels (flavedo and albedo), are produced in large amounts each year. Those by-products have an important economic value due to the high content on bioactive compounds, namely phenolic compounds and carotenoids, and are considered a valuable bio-resource for potential applications in the food industry. However, green extraction techniques are required to ensure their sustainability. This chapter addresses the main components of citrus by-products and their recent applications in food products and active food packaging, towards a circular economy. In addition, the concern regarding citrus by-products contamination (e.g. with pesticides residues and mycotoxins) is also discussed.