Effect of freeze-thaw on the texture of gluten-free pie crust dough

Quick frozen food are becoming increasingly popular among consumers in the last decades. During the development of a quick frozen gluten-free pie crust dough product, the aim was to develop a dough that does not suffer any harmful changes after the freeze-thaw process. The texture is one of the most important sensorial properties, and has a great influence on consumer acceptance. Texture Analyser was used to measure the hardness and the brittleness of various doughs. A quick frozen pie crust dough should be easily cut, but non-crumbling after baking. The results showed that the hardness of a dough with 10% more rice flour was bigger than the other dough’s hardness and it became harder after the freeze-thaw process, while the other dough’s hardness have not changed during the process. The first dough was less brittle than the second dough, also before and after the freeze-thaw. In conclusion, the 1st dough is harder, so it is not more easy to cut than the 2nd dough. However, the first dough being less brittle allows cutting with less crumbs. Considering the expectations, in the future the first recipe should be used to make a fast-frozen pie crust dough product

Metabolic syndrome influences cardiac gene expression pattern at the transcript level in male ZDF rats

Background: Metabolic syndrome (coexisting visceral obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and hypertension) is a prominent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, however, its effect on cardiac gene expression pattern is unclear. Therefore, we examined the possible alterations in cardiac gene expression pattern in male Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rats, a model of metabolic syndrome. Methods: Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were measured at 6, 16, and 25 wk of age in male ZDF and lean control rats. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed at 16 and 25 wk of age. At week 25, total RNA was isolated from the myocardium and assayed by rat oligonucleotide microarray for 14921 genes. Expression of selected genes was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Results: Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly increased, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were impaired in ZDF rats compared to leans. In hearts of ZDF rats, 36 genes showed significant up-regulation and 49 genes showed down-regulation as compared to lean controls. Genes with significantly altered expression in the heart due to metabolic syndrome includes functional clusters of metabolism (e.g. 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A synthase 2; argininosuccinate synthetase; 2-amino-3ketobutyrate-coenzyme A ligase), structural proteins (e.g. myosin IXA; aggrecan1), signal transduction (e. g. activating transcription factor 3; phospholipase A2; insulin responsive sequence DNA binding protein-1) stress response (e.g. heat shock 70kD protein 1A; heat shock protein 60; glutathione S-transferase Yc2 subunit), ion channels and receptors (e.g. ATPase, (Na+)/K+ transporting, beta 4 polypeptide; ATPase, H+/K+ transporting, nongastric, alpha polypeptide). Moreover some other genes with no definite functional clusters were also changed such as e. g. S100 calcium binding protein A3; ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1; interleukin 18. Gene ontology analysis revealed several significantly enriched functional inter-relationships between genes influenced by metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome significantly alters cardiac gene expression profile which may be involved in development of cardiac pathologies in the presence of metabolic syndrome

HOW DOES CRYOGENIC FREEZING AFFECT THE CALORIMETRIC PROPERTIES OF LIQUID EGG PRODUCTS?

Eggs are widely utilized because of their high nutrient value, coagulating, foaming, emulsifying and sometimes even colouring or flavouring facilities in food manufacturing. Production of processed egg products shows an increasing trend. Frozen products belong to first processing, their shelf life can increase up to 1 year. By freezing, a large reduction in microbial loss can be achieved. But different undesirable processes can occur. The effect of freezing on animal cells is highly dependent on freezing parameters. It has a different effect on egg subtituents. Egg yolk undergoes a gelation process while proteins can denaturate. In our study pasteurized liquid egg products (liquid egg white, liquid egg yolk and liquid whole egg) were frozen by dripping into liquid nitrogen. After that, a 14-day frozen storage experiment was carried out at -18°C. Before freezing and on the 1th, 7th and 14th days of storage experiment pH, dry matter content, colour and calorimetric properties (denaturation temperatures and enthalpy of denaturation) with differential scanning calorimetry were tested. For statistical analysis, one-way ANOVA (α = 0.05) was employed. In our experiment, we found no significant change in calorimetric properties of liquid egg white after freezing, but significant decreasing of enthalpy and denaturation temperatures of liquid egg yolk and liquid whole egg was identified. In contrast, frozen storage had a decreasing effect in all these products. Freezing caused a clearly visible colour change in LEW, a visible change in colour of LWE and a very clearly visible change in colour of LEY. In case of LEW and LEY changes increased to clearly visible 14 days. In conclusion, our results show that frozen storage had a greater effect on liquid egg products properties than freezing in liquid nitrogen

HOW DOES CRYOGENIC FREEZING AFFECT THE CALORIMETRIC PROPERTIES OF LIQUID EGG PRODUCTS?

Eggs are widely utilized because of their high nutrient value, coagulating, foaming, emulsifying and sometimes even colouring or flavouring facilities in food manufacturing. Production of processed egg products shows an increasing trend. Frozen products belong to first processing, their shelf life can increase up to 1 year. By freezing, a large reduction in microbial loss can be achieved. But different undesirable processes can occur. The effect of freezing on animal cells is highly dependent on freezing parameters. It has a different effect on egg subtituents. Egg yolk undergoes a gelation process while proteins can denaturate. In our study pasteurized liquid egg products (liquid egg white, liquid egg yolk and liquid whole egg) were frozen by dripping into liquid nitrogen. After that, a 14-day frozen storage experiment was carried out at -18°C. Before freezing and on the 1th, 7th and 14th days of storage experiment pH, dry matter content, colour and calorimetric properties (denaturation temperatures and enthalpy of denaturation) with differential scanning calorimetry were tested. For statistical analysis, one-way ANOVA (α = 0.05) was employed. In our experiment, we found no significant change in calorimetric properties of liquid egg white after freezing, but significant decreasing of enthalpy and denaturation temperatures of liquid egg yolk and liquid whole egg was identified. In contrast, frozen storage had a decreasing effect in all these products. Freezing caused a clearly visible colour change in LEW, a visible change in colour of LWE and a very clearly visible change in colour of LEY. In case of LEW and LEY changes increased to clearly visible 14 days. In conclusion, our results show that frozen storage had a greater effect on liquid egg products properties than freezing in liquid nitrogen

Effect of freeze-thaw on the texture of gluten-free pie crust dough

Quick frozen food are becoming increasingly popular among consumers in the last decades. During the development of a quick frozen gluten-free pie crust dough product, the aim was to develop a dough that does not suffer any harmful changes after the freeze-thaw process. The texture is one of the most important sensorial properties, and has a great influence on consumer acceptance. Texture Analyser was used to measure the hardness and the brittleness of various doughs. A quick frozen pie crust dough should be easily cut, but non-crumbling after baking. The results showed that the hardness of a dough with 10% more rice flour was bigger than the other dough’s hardness and it became harder after the freeze-thaw process, while the other dough’s hardness have not changed during the process. The first dough was less brittle than the second dough, also before and after the freeze-thaw. In conclusion, the 1st dough is harder, so it is not more easy to cut than the 2nd dough. However, the first dough being less brittle allows cutting with less crumbs. Considering the expectations, in the future the first recipe should be used to make a fast-frozen pie crust dough product

Effect of a multivitamin preparation supplemented with phytosterol on serum lipids and infarct size in rats fed with normal and high cholesterol diet

BACKGROUND: Although complex multivitamin products are widely used as dietary supplements to maintain health or as special medical food in certain diseases, the effects of these products were not investigated in hyperlipidemia which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, here we investigated if a preparation developed for human use containing different vitamins, minerals and trace elements enriched with phytosterol (VMTP) affects the severity of experimental hyperlipidemia as well as myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were fed a normal or cholesterol-enriched (2% cholesterol + 0.25% cholate) diet for 12 weeks to induce hyperlipidemia. From week 8, rats in both groups were fed with a VMTP preparation or placebo for 4 weeks. Serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels were measured at week 0, 8 and 12. At week 12, hearts were isolated, perfused according to Langendorff and subjected to a 30-min coronary occlusion followed by 120 min reperfusion to measure infarct size. RESULTS: At week 8, cholesterol-fed rats showed significantly higher serum cholesterol level as compared to normal animals, however, serum triglyceride level did not change. VMTP treatment significantly decreased serum cholesterol level in the hyperlipidemic group by week 12 without affecting triglyceride levels. However, VMTP did not show beneficial effect on infarct size. The inflammatory marker hs-CRP and the antioxidant uric acid were also not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first demonstration that treatment of hyperlipidemic subjects with a VMTP preparation reduces serum cholesterol, the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease; however, it does not provide cardioprotection

Transcriptomic alterations in the heart of non-obese type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats

BACKGROUND: There is a spectacular rise in the global prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) due to the worldwide obesity epidemic. However, a significant proportion of T2DM patients are non-obese and they also have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. As the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat is a well-known model of non-obese T2DM, the goal of this study was to investigate the effect of non-obese T2DM on cardiac alterations of the transcriptome in GK rats. METHODS: Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin and cholesterol levels were measured at 7, 11, and 15 weeks of age in male GK and control rats. Oral glucose tolerance test and pancreatic insulin level measurements were performed at 11 weeks of age. At week 15, total RNA was isolated from the myocardium and assayed by rat oligonucleotide microarray for 41,012 genes, and then expression of selected genes was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Gene ontology and protein-protein network analyses were performed to demonstrate potentially characteristic gene alterations and key genes in non-obese T2DM. RESULTS: Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin and cholesterol levels were significantly increased, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were significantly impaired in GK rats as compared to controls. In hearts of GK rats, 204 genes showed significant up-regulation and 303 genes showed down-regulation as compared to controls according to microarray analysis. Genes with significantly altered expression in the heart due to non-obese T2DM includes functional clusters of metabolism (e.g. Cyp2e1, Akr1b10), signal transduction (e.g. Dpp4, Stat3), receptors and ion channels (e.g. Sln, Chrng), membrane and structural proteins (e.g. Tnni1, Mylk2, Col8a1, Adam33), cell growth and differentiation (e.g. Gpc3, Jund), immune response (e.g. C3, C4a), and others (e.g. Lrp8, Msln, Klkc1, Epn3). Gene ontology analysis revealed several significantly enriched functional inter-relationships between genes influenced by non-obese T2DM. Protein-protein interaction analysis demonstrated that Stat is a potential key gene influenced by non-obese T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: Non-obese T2DM alters cardiac gene expression profile. The altered genes may be involved in the development of cardiac pathologies and could be potential therapeutic targets in non-obese T2DM

Indolepropionic Acid, a Metabolite of the Microbiome, Has Cytostatic Properties in Breast Cancer by Activating AHR and PXR Receptors and Inducing Oxidative Stress

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