Effect of high frequency ultrasounds on lycopene and total phenolic concentration, antioxidant properties and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of tomato juice

Tomato juice was subjected to high frequency ultrasounds(378 and 583 kHz)at increasing energy densities (up to 250 MJ/m3). Results relevant to the treatments at high frequency providing an energy density of 250 MJ/m3 were compared with those obtained at 24 kHz delivering the same energy density. Lycopene and total phenolic concentration, as well as the α-glucosidase inhibitory activityof tomato juice, were not affected by ultrasound regardless the frequency and energy density. However, the antioxidant properties were negatively affected by high frequency ultrasounds

Re-thinking functional food development through a holistic approach

Although the interest towards functional food has dramatically increased, several factors jeopardize their effective development. A univocally recognized definition and a dedicated regulation for this emerging food category is lacking, and a gap exists between the technological and the nutritional viewpoints. Involved actors speak different languages, thus impinging the progression towards an integrated approach for functional food development. A holistic approach to rationalize functional food development was here proposed, i.e., the \u201cFunctional Food Development Cycle\u201d. First regulation and definitions were reviewed. The technological approaches for functional food design were then described, followed by the efficacy evaluation ones. Merging the technological and the evaluation viewpoints, by identifying the best compromise between quality and functionality, is pivotal to develop effective functional foods. Finally, delivering functional food on the market requires dedicated communication strategies. These in turn can provide information about consumer needs, thus representing an input for regulatory bodies to drive the development of functional food, feeding it within an iterative and virtuous holistic cycle

Use of time-resolved fluorescence to monitor bioactive compounds in plant based foodstuffs

The study of compounds that exhibit antioxidant activity has recently received much interest in the food industry because of their potential health benefits. Most of these compounds are plant based, such as polyphenolics and carotenoids, and there is a need to monitor them from the field through processing and into the body. Ideally, a monitoring technique should be non-invasive with the potential for remote capabilities. The application of the phenomenon of fluorescence has proved to be well suited, as many plant associated compounds exhibit fluorescence. The photophysical behaviour of fluorescent molecules is also highly dependent on their microenvironment, making them suitable probes to monitor changes in pH, viscosity and polarity, for example. Time-resolved fluorescence techniques have recently come to the fore, as they offer the ability to obtain more information, coupled with the fact that the fluorescence lifetime is an absolute measure, while steady state just provides relative and average information. In this work, we will present illustrative time-resolved measurements, rather than a comprehensive review, to show the potential of time-resolved fluorescence applied to the study of bioactive substances. The aim is to help assess if any changes occur in their form, going from extraction via storage and cooking to the interaction with serum albumin, a principal blood transport protein

Steering protein and carbohydrate digestibility by food design to address elderly needs: The case of pea protein enriched bread

A “source of protein” and a “high protein” bread intended for the elderly were obtained by replacing wheat flour in bread dough with 50 and 165 g/kg pea protein concentrate. Carbohydrate and protein digestibility was evaluated in vitro by mimicking adult and elderly digestive conditions. Protein digestibility was measured by the OPA assay. Carbohydrate digestibility was assessed by determining the incremental area under the glucose curve during the intestinal phase to estimate the glycaemic index (GIe). Pea proteins negatively affected some key features accounting for elderly acceptability of bread, mainly the textural ones, with firmness increasing from 1.2 to 3.3 N. Proteolysis was not affected by physiological conditions but by reformulation, with “high protein” bread presenting the highest proteolysis, followed by “source of protein” and soft wheat bread (around 110, 80 and 70 mmol free NH2/gdw, respectively). Conversely, carbohydrate digestibility was restrained in elderly settings compared to adult ones, with glucose concentration during digestion reaching maximum values of 0.5 and 0.8 respectively, with no differences between enriched bread. Results may contribute to a better understanding of food digestibility under different gastrointestinal conditions and of its dependence on technological factors and would help to design age-tailored foods

Effect of different oleogelators on lipolysis and curcuminoid bioaccessibility upon in vitro digestion of sunflower oil oleogels

Sunflower oil enriched with curcuminoid compounds (CUs) was gelled by adding 5% (w/w) saturated monoglycerides (MG), rice bran waxes (RW) or a mixture of \u3b2-sitosterol and \u3b3-oryzanol (PS). The resulting oleogels differed for rheological properties and firmness due to the difference in gel network structure. PS oleogel was the firmest sample followed by RW and MG ones. Upon in vitro digestion, fatty acid release as a function of digestion time was greatly affected by oleogel structure: the extent of lipolysis decreased as oleogel strength increased (PS < RW < MG). On the other hand, the nature of the oleogelator affected CUs bioaccessibility, which was lower in oleogels containing crystalline particles (MG and RW). These findings appear interesting in the attempt to develop oleogels able to control lipid digestion as well as to deliver bioactive molecules in food systems

Effect of low frequency, high power pool ultrasonics on viscosity of fluid food: Modeling and experimental validation

Ultrasound induced changes of certain physical and chemical properties of molecules are nowadays exploited at industrial level for food processing and preservation purposes. Deeper knowledge on the mechanisms influencing these changes would contribute to extend implementations of ultrasound to steer structure and functionality of food molecules. In this study the laws of transfer phenomena were applied in order to investigate on the viscosity changes of a pectin-containing fluid flow, i.e. tomato puree in a cylindrical reactor, induced by low frequency, high intensity ultrasound treatments. In particular, the model for fluid motion was associated to a validating rheological investigation. Results showed a good agreement between experimental and computational data for temperature and viscosity progresses with time. A new power law for viscosity has been proposed based on reactor aspect ratio and Rayleigh numbers for natural convection

Use of time-resolved spectroscopy as a method to monitor carotenoids present in tomato extract obtained using ultrasound treatment

Introduction Compounds exhibiting antioxidant activity have received much interest in the food industry because of their potential health benefits. Carotenoids such as lycopene, which in the human diet mainly derives from tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), have attracted much attention in this aspect and the study of their extraction, processing and storage procedures is of importance. Optical techniques potentially offer advantageous non-invasive and specific methods to monitor them. Objectives To obtain both fluorescence and Raman information to ascertain if ultrasound assisted extraction from tomato pulp has a detrimental effect on lycopene. Method Use of time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor carotenoids in a hexane extract obtained from tomato pulp with application of ultrasound treatment (583 kHz). The resultant spectra were a combination of scattering and fluorescence. Because of their different timescales, decay associated spectra could be used to separate fluorescence and Raman information. This simultaneous acquisition of two complementary techniques was coupled with a very high time-resolution fluorescence lifetime measurement of the lycopene. Results Spectroscopic data showed the presence of phytofluene and chlorophyll in addition to lycopene in the tomato extract. The time-resolved spectral measurement containing both fluorescence and Raman data, coupled with high resolution time-resolved measurements, where a lifetime of ~5 ps was attributed to lycopene, indicated lycopene appeared unaltered by ultrasound treatment. Detrimental changes were, however, observed in both chlorophyll and phytofluene contributions. Conclusion Extracted lycopene appeared unaffected by ultrasound treatment, while other constituents (chlorophyll and phytofluene) were degraded. Copyright \ua9 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Phenolic content and potential bioactivity of apple juice as affected by thermal and ultrasound pasteurization

Thermal (T) and ultrasound (US) pasteurization processes were applied to apple juice and the phenolic compounds (TPC) were quantified before and after in vitro digestion by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn, with their bioaccessibility ascertained. Digested samples were analysed for their inhibitory capacity against α-glucosidase. Since some of the compounds exhibit fluorescence, both steady state and time-resolved fluorescence methods were used to investigate the binding to a blood transport protein, human serum albumin (HSA). It was found that processing induced an increase in the TPC content, which was more pronounced when US was applied. In contrast, digestion reduced the TPC content, evening out the overall effect. Still T and US pasteurized juices exhibited a higher quantity of TPC upon digestion as compared to the raw sample. No correlation was found between the TPC content and α-glucosidase inhibition, as the T and US pasteurized juices showed the highest and lowest inhibitory capacities against the enzyme, respectively. This is indicative that other compounds, such as those formed upon thermal treatment, may be involved in the antidiabetic effect of apple juice. The fluorescence study showed that binding occurred to HSA, at slightly different rates for different species present in the US treated extract. Considering energy consumption, US pasteurization is the most power consuming treatment despite its shorter duration. Overall, no univocal indication on the best pasteurization process can be gathered. Thus, it is necessary to define the desired target in order to drive technological interventions by a customized approach.</p

Sustainable Horticulture: A bibliometric Study

This paper examines the scientific researches regarding "sustainable horticulture" to identify research flows with potential for future investigation. Through a bibliometric and content analysis for the 2011-2015 periods and the 2016 first semester, 12 articles, according and relevant to the theme, were selected. The results obtained from the analysis demonstrated the importance of the subject for both academic research and for the practice, since it elucidated scientific production and trends, impact factor, relevant scientific periodicals, contribution by countries and its institutions, methods and research tools, keywords. It stands out that the theme "sustainable horticulture" is used in most cases to address only the environmental dimension and, in a few cases, in the economic and social dimensions. Based in the analysis of the keywords, the terms production, systems and sustainability formed the main research clusters, attracting great attention during the study period

Economic analysis of the harvest date effects on quality and productivity of Fuji Suprema apples.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of harvest date on ‘Fuji Suprema’ apple quality, productivity, and economic profitability at harvest and after storage. Apples were harvested at the beginning of the commercial harvest window (H1), ten days after H1 (H2), and 22 days after H1 (H3) in the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons. A total of six samples with ~400 kg of fruit (~2,900 apples) each were picked at each growing season and harvest date, which were assessed at harvest (six subsamples of 100 fruit) and after 250 days of controlled atmosphere storage at 0.8 °C. The economic analysis considered fixed and variable production costs in the orchard and postharvest practices and the productivity of packaged apples (pack-out). Early harvested (H1) apples had greater flesh firmness, acidity, and lower soluble solids content than late-harvested apples (H3), both at harvest and after storage. Delaying harvest by 22 days increased the production by 10.2% due to increased fruit size but reduced the production by 3.6% due to severe sunburn and pre-harvest decay incidence. Late harvest also increased production losses due to decay by 4.4% and 10.9% during storage and shelf, respectively, but reduced production losses due to superficial scald by 17.1 to 22.7%. The net revenue (R$ ha-1) is higher for apples harvested late (H3, flesh firmness of 15.6 lb and starch index of 7.1) than for apples harvested early (H1 and H2) when the fruit is marketed soon after harvest (between April and May). However, for apples marketed after long-term storage, economic profitability is maximum when harvested at an intermediate maturity stage (H2, flesh firmness of 16.4 lb and starch index of 6)