Annual review of food science and technology最新文献

Meats are rich in lipids and proteins, exposing them to rapid oxidative changes. Proteins are essential to the human diet, and changes in the structure and functional attributes can greatly influence the quality and nutritional value of meats. In this article, we review the molecular changes of proteins during processing, their impact on the nutritional value of fresh and processed meat, the digestibility and bioavailability of meat proteins, the risks associated with high meat intake, and the preventive strategies employed to mitigate these risks. This information provides new research directions to reduce or prevent oxidative processes that influence the quality and nutritional values of meat.

Sensory science is a multidisciplinary field that encompasses a wide variety of established and newly developed tests to document human responses to stimuli. Sensory tests are not limited to the area of food science but they find wide application within the diverse areas of the food science arena. Sensory tests can be divided into two basic groups: analytical tests and affective tests. Analytical tests are generally product-focused, and affective tests are generally consumer-focused. Selection of the appropriate test is critical for actionable results. This review addresses an overview of sensory tests and best practices.

Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is a bioactive phytochemical abundant in cruciferous vegetables. One of its main in vivo metabolites is 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM), formed by the condensation of two molecules of I3C. Both I3C and DIM alter multiple signaling pathways and related molecules controlling diverse cellular events, including oxidation, inflammation, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and immunity. There is a growing body of evidence from both in vitro and in vivo models that these compounds possess strong potential to prevent several forms of chronic disease such as inflammation, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, neurodegenerative diseases, and osteoporosis. This article reviews current knowledge of the occurrence of I3C in nature and foods, along with the beneficial effects of I3C and DIM concerning prevention and treatment of human chronic diseases, focusing on preclinical studies and their mechanisms of action at cellular and molecular levels.

Food proteins, polysaccharides, and polyphenols are natural ingredients with different functional attributes. For instance, many proteins are good emulsifiers and gelling agents, many polysaccharides are good thickening and stabilizing agents, and many polyphenols are good antioxidants and antimicrobials. These three kinds of ingredients can be combined into protein, polysaccharide, and/or polyphenol conjugates or complexes using covalent or noncovalent interactions to create novel multifunctional colloidal ingredients with new or improved properties. In this review, the formation, functionality, and potential applications of protein conjugates and complexes are discussed. In particular, the utilization of these colloidal ingredients to stabilize emulsions, control lipid digestion, encapsulate bioactive ingredients, modify textures, and form films is highlighted. Finally, future research needs in this area are briefly proposed. The rational design of protein complexes and conjugates may lead to the development of new functional ingredients that can be used to create more nutritious, sustainable, and healthy foods.

With advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the development and implementation of digital food systems are becoming increasingly possible. There is tremendous interest in using different AI applications, such as machine learning models, natural language processing, and computer vision to improve food safety. Possible AI applications are broad and include, but are not limited to, (a) food safety risk prediction and monitoring as well as food safety optimization throughout the supply chain, (b) improved public health systems (e.g., by providing early warning of outbreaks and source attribution), and (c) detection, identification, and characterization of foodborne pathogens. However, AI technologies in food safety lag behind in commercial development because of obstacles such as limited data sharing and limited collaborative research and development efforts. Future actions should be directed toward applying data privacy protection methods, improving data standardization, and developing a collaborative ecosystem to drive innovations in AI applications to food safety.

It is important to have larger proportions of health-beneficial polyunsaturated lipids in foods, but these nutrients are particularly sensitive to oxidation, and dedicated strategies must be developed to prevent this deleterious reaction. In food oil-in-water emulsions, the oil-water interface is a crucial area when it comes to the initiation of lipid oxidation. Unfortunately, most available natural antioxidants, such as phenolic antioxidants, do not spontaneously position at this specific locus. Achieving such a strategic positioning has therefore been an active research area, and various routes have been proposed: lipophilizing phenolic acids to confer them with an amphiphilic character; functionalizing biopolymer emulsifiers through covalent or noncovalent interactions with phenolics; or loading Pickering particles with natural phenolic compounds to yield interfacial antioxidant reservoirs. We herein review the principles and efficiency of these approaches to counteract lipid oxidation in emulsions as well as their advantages and limitations.

Nondigestible functional oligosaccharides are of particular interest in recent years because of their unique prebiotic activities, technological characteristics, and physiological effects. Among different types of strategies for the production of nondigestible functional oligosaccharides, enzymatic methods are preferred owing to the predictability and controllability of the structure and composition of the reaction products. Nondigestible functional oligosaccharides have been proved to show excellent prebiotic effects as well as other benefits to intestinal health. They have exhibited great application potential as functional food ingredients for various food products with improved quality and physicochemical characteristics. This article reviews the research progress on the enzymatic production of several typical nondigestible functional oligosaccharides in the food industry, including galacto-oligosaccharides, xylo-oligosaccharides, manno-oligosaccharides, chito-oligosaccharides, and human milk oligosaccharides. Moreover, their physicochemical properties and prebiotic activities are discussed as well as their contributions to intestinal health and applications in foods.

Structural bioinformatics analyzes protein structural models with the goal of uncovering molecular drivers of food functionality. This field aims to develop tools that can rapidly extract relevant information from protein databases as well as organize this information for researchers interested in studying protein functionality. Food bioinformaticians take advantage of millions of protein amino acid sequences and structures contained within these databases, extracting features such as surface hydrophobicity that are then used to model functionality, including solubility, thermostability, and emulsification. This work is aided by a protein structure-function relationship framework, in which bioinformatic properties are linked to physicochemical experimentation. Strong bioinformatic correlations exist for protein secondary structure, electrostatic potential, and surface hydrophobicity. Modeling changes in protein structures through molecular mechanics is an increasingly accessible field that will continue to propel food science research.

With the rising problems of food shortages, energy costs, and raw materials, the food industry must reduce its environmental impact. We present an overview of more resource-efficient processes to produce food ingredients, describing their environmental impact and the functional properties obtained. Extensive wet processing yields high purities but also has the highest environmental impact, mainly due to heating for protein precipitation and dehydration. Milder wet alternatives exclude, for example, low pH-driven separation and are based on salt precipitation or water only. Drying steps are omitted during dry fractionation using air classification or electrostatic separation. Benefits of milder methods are enhanced functional properties. Therefore, fractionation and formulation should be focused on the desired functionality instead of purity. Environmental impact is also strongly reduced by milder refining. Antinutritional factors and off-flavors remain challenges in more mildly produced ingredients. The benefits of less refining motivate the increasing trend toward mildly refined ingredients.

Bovine colostrum harbors a diverse array of bioactive components suitable for the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals with veterinary and human health applications. Bovine colostrum has a strong safety profile with applications across all age groups for health promotion and the amelioration of a variety of disease states. Increased worldwide milk production and novel processing technologies have resulted in substantial growth of the market for colostrum-based products. This review provides a synopsis of the bioactive components in bovine colostrum, the processing techniques used to produce high-value colostrum-based products, and recent studies utilizing bovine colostrum for veterinary and human health.