Food Structure-Netherlands最新文献

Underexploited sources of bio-based wall materials for bioactive compounds (such as β-carotene) encapsulation have gained increasing interest within the scientific community. In this study, the potential of amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) grain starch and protein rich fractions as microcapsules’ wall materials to carrier β-carotene was evaluated. Microcapsules were produced by spray-drying and their morphological and physicochemical characterisation was carried out. The microcapsules presented a spherical shape (particle size distribution: 0.3–30 µm) and encapsulation efficiencies ranging from 64 % to 69 %. Results showed that protein-based microcapsules had better β-carotene storage stability as compared to starch-based microcapsules (at 8 and 25 °C). β-carotene release kinetics at 37 °C and pH 7.4 could be mainly described by structural-relaxation phenomenon using the linear superposition model. Moreover, encapsulated β-carotene exhibited higher bioaccessibility than its free form after simulated in vitro digestion tests. Microcapsules did not affect cell viability at 0.0625 mg L⁻¹ of β-carotene. Thus, amaranth grain biopolymers-based microcapsules were successfully developed as promising β-carotene delivery systems to be added to food products and consequently, to improve their functionality.

This work is dealt with how structural changes induced by konjac glucomannan (KGM) interacting with wheat protein contribute to dough properties upon the heating stage. It comparatively investigated the effects of KGM on gluten thermal-polymerization process from molecular weight, free sulfhydryl content, secondary structure and thermal stability, and then analyzed KGM-induced changes of structural and rheological properties of wheat dough with heating temperature increased. Results showed that KGM increased the average molecular weight, the β-sheet/β-turn ratio and denaturation temperature of gluten protein while decreased the content of free sulfhydryl groups. It was likely that KGM promoted the formation and stability of gluten networks upon heating by interfering sulfydryl interchange reactions and thermal denaturation. Dough structure was thus strengthened to a compact network and presented the increased elasticity and the raised resilience, springiness, cohesiveness and chewiness of textural properties by heating treatment.

In this paper, the effect of konjac glucomannan (KGM) on the physical stability, rheological properties, and microstructure of Pickering emulsions stabilized by gliadin/sodium caseinate nanoparticles (Gli/CAS NPs) with different concentration was investigated. When the Gli/CAS NPs concentration was constant, the increase of KGM content significantly improved the storage stability of the emulsion. For emulsion samples with 20% oil content, with the increase of KGM concentration from 0.1% to 0.6%, the D₃₂ value decreased from 7.57 ± 0.24 µm to 4.47 ± 0.10 µm. The CLSM and cryo-SEM observations showed that the particles adsorbed on the oil-water interface and formed a network structure. The structure was conducive to the stability of the emulsion. Irregular bulges on the surface of emulsion with higher KGM content could be observed. When the Gli/CAS NPs concentration was 4 wt%, the viscoelasticity of emulsion was improved and the G′ and G" value of the emulsion increases with the increase of KGM content. The study showed that KGM has the potential to regulate the stability and rheological properties of emulsions, which might provide an interesting perspective for various industrial applications of functional emulsions.

Given the great innovation in pasta formulations, elucidating factors that will impact pasta behaviour during cooking is essential when alternative ingredients are incorporated. Whole wheat (W), vegetable (V) and gluten free (GF) pastas (from raw to overcooked) were analysed using a multiscale approach and compared with a standard (STD) formulation. Macroscopic (moisture content and hardness), mesoscopic (viscoelastic properties and degree of gelatinization) and molecular (¹H NMR relaxometry) properties were evaluated and coupled with discrimination analysis (by means of principal components analysis and partial least square). Results from 2-ways ANOVA indicated that the cooking time (CT) was the main factor influencing the studied properties overlapping the effect of pasta formulation (PF). The application of partial least square analysis was effective in indicating viscoelastic properties and several molecular mobility indicators as typifying features able to describe pasta behaviour during cooking and discriminating GF from their gluten-containing counterparts.

High-quality plant-based foods like meat and fish analogs should have physicochemical attributes, such as their look, feel, and taste, that mimic those of the animal-based products they replace. This study focused on the development of plant-based adipose tissue using advanced emulsion technologies. Oil-in-water high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) assembled from soybean oil (60–85%) and soybean protein (2 wt%) were used to simulate the optical and rheological properties of beef adipose tissue. The microstructure and appearance of HIPEs containing 75 or 80% oil were like those of beef adipose tissue. However, the diameter of the adipocytes was around 100 µm in the adipose tissue, whereas the diameter of the fat droplets in the HIPEs was only around 10 µm. The shear rheology of the HIPEs and adipose tissue were similar at high temperatures (> 60 °C) but beef adipose was much harder at lower temperatures, which was attributed to fat crystallization. The hardness of the HIPEs increased with increasing fat content from 60% to 80% but then decreased when it was further raised to 85% because the emulsion broke down. The plant-based adipose tissue developed here may be useful for creating certain kinds of meat or fish analogs.

Sunflower kernel is rich in protein and is considered an alternative plant protein source for meat analogue application. The effect of process conditions used to make ingredients from sunflower kernel needs to be investigated on the functional and structuring properties. Pre-pressing and de-oiling with 96% ethanol were applied to obtain de-oiled sunflower kernel (DSK). Pressed sunflower kernel (PSK) was obtained by more intensive pressing only. Their concentrates were obtained by aqueous ethanol washing to study the effect of oil and phenol removal. DSK and its concentrate formed a fibrous product at 40 wt% by shearing and heating at 140 ℃ in a shear cell. The washed DSK led to stronger products upon shearing and heating. However, PSK, before and after washing only formed a crumble gel under the same conditions. The differences for the water holding capacity, nitrogen solubility index, and rheological properties were remarkably small between DSK and PSK, and the washed concentrates. The remaining oil in the sunflower material is crucial for the structuring potential, while the phenol content does not seem to have a relevant influence. The primary de-oiling process turned out to be a determining factor for further oil removal with aqueous ethanol washing.

In this work, we present a multiphysics model describing heat and mass transport during drying of broccoli stalks, which is coupled to mechanical deformation. The model predicts collapse of pores due to compressive stresses during the initial stage of drying, which is later followed by reopening of pores if the liquid pressure gets under tension. This behaviour is qualitative in line with the experimental MRI observations during drying of broccoli stalk. The MRI observations show an apparent increase of moisture content in the centre of the sample during the initial stage of drying, which is consistent with the collapse of pores. In the later stages of drying, the MRI signal is prone to susceptibility effects, which can be explained by the reopened pores in the outer regions of the stalk. The purpose of this study is to show how mechanical deformation can be incorporated in a multiphysics model of drying of vegetables in a thermodynamic consistent manner.