ACS food science & technology最新文献

The effects of linear and branched fructans from chicory and agave, respectively, and of different degrees of polymerization (DP) were evaluated on the growth curves of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Native fructans from agaves were separated into fractions with different DPs using the ultrafiltration process. The fructan profile was determined by size exclusion chromatography (high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-SEC) and grouped according to their DPs. The growth was evaluated by the specific growth rate (μ) using turbidimetry (nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU)) at 860 nm for 12–22 h in modified De Man–Rogosa–Sharpe (MRS) broth, using fructans as a carbohydrate source. The different tested strains exhibited varying growth rates under the tested treatments, and the highest growth was obtained with agave fructooligosaccharides (FOS) in a range between 4 and 50% of the four LAB evaluated in comparison with linear fructans, so they can be considered for the development of new functional foods and pharmaceutical industries.

Our recent study on the isolation of rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) pectin enriched with acetyl groups, ferulic acid, neutral sugar side chains, and proteins through enzymatic hydrolysis of the homogalacturonan (HG) region of sugar beet pectin showed that RG-I molecules can form more stable emulsions than HG molecules. In this experiment, the interfacial adsorption kinetics of HG and RG-I molecules at the oil–water interface and the resistance effects of these interfacial films on extrinsic perturbations were further investigated. All of these experimental results indicated that the RG-I-stabilized interfacial film presented better elasticity (43.36 mN/m) and stronger resistance to extrinsic perturbations than HG (12.41 mN/m). In addition, both HG- and RG-I-loaded interfacial films exhibited linear viscoelastic responses when a small interfacial deformation and low-frequency perturbation were applied. When the interfacial deformation increased further, both HG- and RG-loaded interfacial films underwent strain softening during the extension stage. However, in the compression stage, the HG-loaded interfacial film underwent strain hardening, whereas the RG-loaded interfacial film exhibited strain softening.

UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Convention on Biodiversity Strategic Plan for 2020 address the need to reduce synthetic inputs in agroecosystems while decreasing industrial food waste. Peels recovered from processing varieties were profiled, obtaining extracts up to 1200 and 300 μM of total phenols and steroidal glycoalkaloids, respectively. Their antifungal activity was tested by in vitro experiments against Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium verticillioides. A comparison among raw peel extracts, their separated fractions of steroidal glycoalkaloids, phenolic acids, and anthocyanins, their combination, and mixtures of authentic molecules was performed. For all the peels tested, fungal growth was reduced independently of genotype and farming systems with a range from 12 to 30% of radial growth inhibition. While the antifungal role of glycoalkaloids was confirmed (up to 20% inhibition), for the first time, the effectiveness of phenolic acids alone was revealed (up to 30% inhibition).

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are pluripotent stem cells that can differentiate into neurons and glia cells. They continue to supply these cells throughout life in the adult central nervous system. However, it is revealed that differentiation capacity of NSCs has been to decrease with aging and mental stress. The decreasing capacity suspected to be associated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases and depression. Therefore, compounds that regulate the differentiation of NSCs into astrocytes may provide a good clue to understanding the role of astrocytes in maintaining brain function. In this study, the extracts of the pericarps of Japanese pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum (L.) DC.), which has long been popular as a spice in Japanese cuisine, were subjected to solvent fractionation, purification and spectral analysis. As a result, an alkylamide with an unusual odd-chain fatty acid moiety, (2E)-N-isobutyltridec-2-enamide (1), was isolated along with three known alkylamides (2–4). All these alkylamides were evaluated for their promoting activity in the differentiation of mouse neural stem cells (mNSCs) into astrocyte. As the result, compounds 2 and 4 increased numbers of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive cells in in vitro differentiation assays using mNSCs. These findings suggest the potential for new uses of Japanese pepper as a functional food that could be applied to the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and depression.

The nonfood waste of the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) was used as an active material source in this study. After the active substance of the pomace was extracted by aqueous ethanol, the liquid extract was encapsulated in Arabic gum/maltodextrin (blend or alone) by spray-drying. The microencapsulation formulation was optimized by I-optimal design under combined design with two mixture components (Arabic gum and maltodextrin) and a numeric process factor (inlet temperature). The maximum yields (80.99%, 76.39%, 5.382 mg-TEAC/g-DM, and 0.722 mg-C3G/g-DM) of encapsulation efficiency (EE) in terms of total phenolic content, powder yield (PY), antioxidant activity, and total anthocyanin content (TAC) were achieved by ∼161 °C and Arabic gum alone (10%). Based on the analysis of the variance test, the interaction terms between the Arabic gum ratio and the inlet temperature were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for EE, while every single term was significant at p < 0.0001 in the case of PY. Regarding the antioxidant activity response, each term was significant at p < 0.05. Each term of the TAC analysis was generally statistically important at p < 0.0001. The microparticles were subjected to several morphological tests (particle size distribution, scanning electron microscopy, and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform) and physicochemical measurements (moisture content, water activity, solubility, bulk density, tapped density, and Carr index). Finally, an in vitro digestion test was applied to obtain preliminary information on the developed microparticles before proceeding to the in vivo process.