Recent Trends in the Use of Pectin from Agro-Waste Residues as a Natural-Based Biopolymer for Food Packaging Applications

Regardless of the considerable progress in properties and versatility of synthetic polymers, their low biodegradability and lack of environmentally-friendly character remains a critical issue. Pectin is a natural-based polysaccharide contained in the cell walls of many plants allowing their growth and cell extension. This biopolymer can be extracted from plants and isolated as a bioplastic material with different applications, including food packaging. This review aims to present the latest research results regarding pectin, including the structure, different types, natural sources and potential use in several sectors, particularly in food packaging materials. Many researchers are currently working on a multitude of food and beverage industry applications related to pectin as well as combinations with other biopolymers to improve some key properties, such as antioxidant/antimicrobial performance and flexibility to obtain films. All these advances are covered in this review

EFFECT OF SOY PROTEIN-BASED EDIBLE COATINGS WITH ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING ON THE QUALITY OF FRESH-CUT PRODUCES

Durante los últimos años la creciente demanda por parte del consumidor de alimentos frescos, de primera calidad y listos para preparar y servir, ha generado un cambio importante en la aplicación de técnicas de conservación de alimentos, abriéndose nuevas líneas en el mercado. Ante este reto, la industria ha respondido mediante la elaboración de productos minimamente procesados en fresco. Sin embargo, estos alimentos presentan una vida útil corta, principalmente debido a problemas de pardeamiento. La metodología para controlar este tipo de problema se basa en la utilización de antioxidantes y atmósferas modificadas con bajo nivel de O2. Sin embargo, la sola aplicación de estas tecnologías, en muchos casos, resulta poco efectiva para garantizar una vida útil adecuada del producto minimamente procesado. Por lo tanto, resulta necesario seguir estudiando en el desarrollo y aplicación de otras tecnologías que ayuden a mantener la calidad de estos productos durante periodos adecuados para su comercialización. En este proyecto, se pretende estudiar la efectividad de tratamientos antioxidantes con recubrimientos comestibles y el envasado en atmósferas modificadas `no convencionales¿, con el objetivo de reducir el pardeamiento enzimático en productos como alcachofa, berenjena, manzana y caqui minimamente procesados.Ghidelli, C. (2014). EFFECT OF SOY PROTEIN-BASED EDIBLE COATINGS WITH ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING ON THE QUALITY OF FRESH-CUT PRODUCES [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/39104TESI

Romanian Aromatic and Medicinal Plants: From Tradition to Science

From ancient times, plants have been used by humans for food, fodder, fibre and medicinal purposes. Several plants were empirically considered as treatments for a large array of illness and medical conditions. Each community had specific natural remedies, based on the geographical area, environmental conditions and other factors. Thus, the use of plants can be considered as part of the intangible cultural heritage of each community. In the geographical area of today’s Romania, the ancient inhabitants, Dacians, had very good knowledge regarding the use of plants for medicinal purposes, as presented by several historical sources. The present work describes protocols for the extraction and purification of natural extracts, analytical characterisation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of their potential applications as well as some practical examples of their application on selected Romanian native medicinal and aromatic plants. The presented results offer scientific support to their traditional use, suggesting in the same time some modern applications, for example in the nanotechnology field

Novel encapsulation of water soluble active ingredients to acheive their controlled release in aqueous environment

Encapsulation technology has been widely researched and applied to different industry sectors. There are vast examples of encapsulation for controlled release of hydrophilic or hydrophobic ingredients to the target place. However, it is still difficult to encapsulate the small water-soluble salts or molecules, achieving long-term sustained release or even no release in water. Herein, a novel type of organic-inorganic composite solid microsphere, comprised of polystyrene sulfonate and silica was developed here to achieve a sustained release of K+ ions in aqueous environment for over 48 hours. Furthermore, a novel type of melamine formaldehyde (MF) based has been developed to encapsulate KCl and allura red, showing a sustained release of KCl and allura red for 12 h and > 10 days in water, respectively. Finally, a novel formulation for encapsulation of KCl and allura red has been developed based on the formation of melamine formaldehydeoctadecyltrichlorosilane- melamine formaldehyde (MOM) microcapsules, achieving no release in aqueous environment for 1 month. It is a breakthrough to prevent the leakage of small water soluble ingredients from the carrier, which is of great significance for their long-term storage until they are delivered to a target place via triggered release in many applications

XII CIBIA Iberoamerican congress of food engineering: challenging food engineering as a driver towards sustainable food processing - Book of abstracts

The XII edition of CIBIA, Iberoamerican Congress of Food Engineering will take place, for the first time, in Portugal next July 1 to 4, having as theme “Challenging Food Engineering as a Driver Towards Sustainable Food Processing“. The host institution is the University of Algarve, Faro, in the Algarve region. The importance of the Food Engineering field was enhanced by the number of Iberoamerican researchers who participated in this XIIth edition of CIBIA. We received 530 abstracts submitted by researchers from the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain), and from all the South and Central American Continent: Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador, among others. About 350 participants will be present with around 100 accepted abstracts for oral presentations and more than 300 poster presentations. These numbers reveal that Food Engineering is very alive and strong in the Iberoamerican world as many young researchers are pursuing their graduate studies in various disciplines of this field and senior researchers keep facing and studying new challenges such as the main Congress Theme “Challenging Food Engineering as a Driver towards Sustainable Food Processing”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Functional Foods and Food Supplements

Recent technological advancements, socio-economic trends, and population lifestyle modifications throughout the world indicate the need for foods with increased health benefits. The clear relationship between the food that we eat and our well-being is widely recognized. Today, foods are not only intended to satisfy hunger and provide necessary nutrients: they can also confer additional health benefits, such as preventing nutrition-related diseases and improving physical and mental well-being. This book provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the field of functional foods and food supplements. Readers will discover new food matrices as innovative natural sources of bioactive compounds endowed with health-promoting properties. Studies on chemical, technological, and nutritional characteristics of healthy food ingredients, analytical methods for monitoring their quality, and innovative formulation strategies are included

Natural Alternatives against Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens

The dramatic increase in resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants of foodborne bacterial pathogens has become a serious health problem for consumers and a growing concern for food safety authorities. In this situation, new strategies are being explored that can be employed as useful alternatives in the fight against these pathogens. Natural compounds are considered among the most promising candidates due to their high acceptability and low levels of toxicity, contributing to increased environmental sustainability. Many of these compounds have different bioactive properties and can act as antimicrobials and/or anti-inflammatories, also showing the ability to inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilms. In this book, the invited authors provide evidence that contributes to the visibility of some of these new antibacterial agents, presenting different strategies potentially applicable in the control of various foodborne pathogens

Analyse critique des traitements phytothérapiques des troubles gastro-intestinaux selon les critères de l'evidence-based medicine‎ : préludes d'une revue systématique

La phytothérapie, ou thérapie par les plantes médicinales attire de plus en plus de propriétaires d’animaux mais également de praticiens vétérinaires. Les ressources pour se former sont diverses et variées, mais présentent pour la plupart l’inconvénient, dans le meilleur des cas, de se contenter de citer le titre d’essais cliniques ou études in vitro pour justifier les propriétés des plantes médicinales. Pour le vétérinaire qui souhaite justifier ses choix thérapeutiques tout en étant un scientifique avéré, c’est insuffisant ! L’evidence-base medicine est un concept permettant de caractériser la meilleure preuve afin de répondre à une question clinique. Elle met à notre disposition des outils permettant d’évaluer la valeur des essais cliniques notamment thérapeutiques. Après application de ces concepts et évaluations des publications en phytothérapie, les plantes médicinales restent une option préventive et thérapeutique envisageable dans la prise en charge des troubles gastro-intestinaux chez les animaux. Cependant, la plupart des propriétés citées dans la littérature vulgarisée ne sont ni étudiées, ni prouvées. Les propriétés prouvées, se doivent de l’être dans des essais cliniques de haute validité interne, après standardisation des extraits utilisés. Néanmoins, si on se réfère aux notions de validité interne et externe, un certain nombre de plantes restent prometteuses et leurs utilisations pourront être justifiées par le praticien, en vu des données disponibles à l’heure actuelle

Antioxidant properties of Subcritical Water Extracts Derived from Mushroom Inonotus obliquus

The medicinal mushroom Inonotus obliquus is widespread in Europe, Asia and North America. In many countries, since the 16 th century, it has traditionally been used to treat gastrointestinal cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes [1]. This study was designed to determine the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of subcritical water extracts obtained from fruiting bodies of I. obliquus originating from Mongolia (IM) and from the mountain Vlasina, Serbia (IS). Chemical analysis revealed the total content of proteins, carbohydrates and phenols. High carbohydrate content was found in both extracts, and glucose was the most dominant monosaccharide. In order to identify phenolic acids, the extracts were subjected to a qualitative chemical analysis, and the presence of chlorogenic acid, catechin, p-coumaric acid and cinnamic acid has been confirmed. Chlorogenic acid was detected in the highest concentration, compared to other phenolic acids. DPPH free radical scavenging activity assay was used to measure the antioxidant properties of extracts in vitro . Extracts concentrations from 0.156 to 10 mg/mL were tested and a maximum of 93% of scavenging ability was reached. The results indicated that antioxidant activity in both extracts can be achieved through hydrogen atom (HAT) and single electron transfer (SET) as dominant mechanisms [2]