Food Wastes as Valuable Sources of Bioactive Molecules

Food industry produces worldwide millions of tons of plant‐derived wastes which can be exploited as sources of high‐value components: proteins, fibres, polysaccharides, flavour compounds or different phytochemicals. These bioactive compounds can be valorised as functional ingredients in food, pharmaceutical, health care, cosmetic and other products. Using the recovered bioactive molecules as functional ingredients represents a sustainable alternative of food wastes exploitation as inexpensive source of valuable compounds, while developing innovative food and non‐food products with health‐promoting benefits and at the same time contributing to an efficient waste reduction management. This chapter gives an overview of the main classes of bioactive compounds recovered from food wastes and their potential applications as functional chemicals, without being exhaustive

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of the Fir Buds Syrup

The fir buds as well as the fir buds extracts (such as fir buds syrup) are used in traditional medicine and phytotheraphy for the alleviation of light to medium forms of respiratory diseases and for the prophylaxis or treatment of some childhood disorders. The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the two types fir buds syrups (cold pressed and boiled) taken into study were demonstrated by its content in vitamin C, flavonoids and by the inhibitory effect on E.coli, B. cereus, S.aureus, L. monocytogenes, Salmonella thypi

Monitoring Lactic Acid Fermentation in Media Containing Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) by FTIR Spectroscopy

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is considered to be a comprehensive and sensitive method for detection of molecular changes in cells and media. In the present study, FTIR spectroscopy was employed as an easy, rapid and reliable technique to evaluate the lactic fermentation of Lactobacillus casei on a model de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) medium with or without the addition of dandelion extract (DE). Dandelion, due to its high content in fructans, can be used as an additional carbon source in lactic fermentation. Lactic fermentation in a dandelion extract, using the FTIR fingerprint as a qualitative and semi-quantitative assay for lactic acid production was monitored. Specific bands of carbohydrates in the fingerprint region (1200-900 cm-1) and their shifts indicated the hydrolysis and metabolism during fermentation. The band at 1336 cm-1 may be considered a sensitive marker for the identification of L. casei during fermentation, while the dandelion extract showed a unique characteristic peak at 1436 cm-1. The results proved that the species were detectable and that significant spectral differences existed between fermented samples in media with or without dandelion addition. Representative peaks of bacteria and dandelion appeared in the spectra of a mixture of bacteria and dandelion. The peaks were evident in the samples taken using the model MRS media from the beginning of fermentation as opposed to at the end of fermentation

Fractional-Order Models for Biochemical Processes

Biochemical processes present complex mechanisms and can be described by various computational models. Complex systems present a variety of problems, especially the loss of intuitive understanding. The present work uses fractional-order calculus to obtain mathematical models for erythritol and mannitol synthesis. The obtained models are useful for both prediction and process optimization. The models present the complex behavior of the process due to the fractional order, without losing the physical meaning of gain and time constants. To validate each obtained model, the simulation results were compared with experimental data. In order to highlight the advantages of fractional-order models, comparisons with the corresponding integer-order models are presented

DHA production by Schizochytrium limacinum SR-21 using crude glycerol as carbon source

This study investigates the potential of low-cost substrates (crude glycerol) usage as carbon source for obtaining docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), through fermentation of the Schizochytrium limacinum SR-21 microalga. The fermentations were conducted on flask and bioreactor scale. To quantify the amount of DHA obtained, the amount of biomass and lipid production were monitored and simultaneously running fermentative processes on two substrates were carried out. In both processes (flask and bioreactor) the highest amount of dry biomass (DB) was obtained by using glucose as carbon source (6.9 g L -1 in flask and 10.65 g L -1 in bioreactor). Although the amount of DB was higher on blank substrate, the level of DHA from total lipids content was higher (27.69 % in flask and 36.06% in bioreactor) in the biomass obtained on glycerol as primal carbon source. The highest quantity of DHA was obtained by using crude glycerol as carbon source for the microalgae when carrying out the process on bioreactor scale, which allowed us to control the pH on a set value of 7.

Exploitation of Brewing Industry Wastes to Produce Functional Ingredients

Nowadays, the consumers’ global demand for healthier diets is steadily increasing, and the development of novel functional ingredients has become a focus of the food industry. On the other hand, the accumulation of huge amounts of food wastes every year has led to environmental degradation and especially to significant loss of valuable material that could otherwise be exploited as new health-promoting ingredients, fuels and a great variety of additives. In this respect, the biggest challenge of the current scientific world is to convert the underutilised by-products generated by the food and beverage industries into more profitable and marketable added value products which would also contribute significantly to meet the nowadays society needs. This chapter gives an overview regarding the possibility of exploiting the brewing industry wastes as sources of bioactive compounds in order to produce functional ingredients and products with added value

Arany nanorészecskéket tartalmazó bioaktív üveg – biopolimér kompozítok előállítása, jellemzése és alkalmazhatósága: Synthesis, characterization and applicability of bioactive glass – biopolymer composites with gold nanoparticles

Considering that the median age of our population is increasing, bone disorders or skin regeneration problems are of significant concern. The bioactive glass-biopolymer composites are materials with real potential to be used in tissue engineering. It is well-known, that the bioactive glasses (BG) can lead the promotion of growth of granulation tissue. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs; ~20 nm) can induced the acceleration of wound healing including tissue regeneration, connective tissue regeneration and angiogenesis. It was demonstrated that the AuNPs in the sol-gel derived glass structure retain their properties. Alginate-pullulan (Alg-Pll) composites have good bioactivity and in vivo qualities in terms of bone regeneration. The goal of this study was to obtain the functional composites for future tissue engineering applications using BG with AuNPs introduced in Alg-Pll composites. After structural and morphological characterization of the composites, in vitro and in vivo bioactivity and biocompatibility were evaluated. The obtained results suggest that the obtained composites are materials for future soft tissue and bone engineering applications.  Kivonat A várható élettartam növekedésével egyre növekszik azon betegek száma, amelyek ortopédiai vagy bőr rekonstrukcióra szorulnak. A bioaktív üveg-biopolimer kompozitok potenciálisan alkalmazható anyagok a szövettani sebészetben. Ismert dolog, hogy a bioaktív üvegek (BG) elősegítik a granulációs szövetek növekedését. Az arany nanorészecskék (AuNPs; ~20 nm) gyorsítják a sebgyógyulást beleértve angiogenézist, a szövetek és kötőszövet regenerálódását. Tudjuk, hogy a szól-gél módszerrel előállított üveg szerkezetben bevitt AuNPs képes megőrizni ezen tulajdonságait. Az alginát-pullulán (kompozitok) remek bioaktivitásuknak köszönhetően aktívan részt vesznek az in vivo csont regenerálódásban. A tanulmány célja, hogy olyan funkcionális kompozitokat hozzunk létre, amelyek alkalmazhatók a szövettani sebészetben. Ehhez az Alg-Pll kompozitokban AuNPs tartalmazó BG vittünk be, majd szerkezeti és morfológiai jellemzéseket végeztünk. Ezt követtően az in vitro és in vivo bioaktivitás, valamint biokompatibilitást vizsgáltuk. A kapott eredmények azt sugallják, hogy az előállított kompozitok megfelelnek a lágyrész- és csonttechnikai alkalmazás elvárásainak

Optimization of the drying process of autumn fruits rich in antioxidants: A study focusing on rosehip (: Rosa canina L.) and sea buckthorn (Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A. Nelson) and their bioactive properties

Nowadays, it is very important to identify the traditional uses of different plants and to create the context in which new cultural or economic value is given to local resources. In this study, two wild fruits traditionally harvested in autumn in Romania were selected to investigate the effects of drying conditions on the chemical compositions and bioactivities exerted by the extracts and to select the best conditions in terms of air temperature and time of drying. The extracts obtained were assessed in terms of antioxidant capacity and enzyme inhibitory activity, and their main bioactive compounds were identified and quantified. The data presented in this article represent a step forward in applying this process on an industrial-scale. This journal isThis work was supported by a grant of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, CNCS – UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2019-1245, within PNCDI III”. The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/ MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020); the national funding by FCT, P. I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for L. Barros, Maria Inês Dias and C. Pereira’s contracts; to FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme through the project TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042: GreenHealth.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Green tea increases the survival yield of Bifidobacteria in simulated gastrointestinal environment and during refrigerated conditions

Abstract Background The well–known prebiotics are carbohydrates but their effects may not always be beneficial, as they can also encourage the growth of non-probiotic bacteria such as Eubacterium biforme and Clostridium perfringens. Therefore, new alternatives such as non-carbohydrate sources to stimulate the growth of probiotics are needed. The aim of this work was to evaluate (I) the green tea polyphenols by HPLC-LC/MS and (II) the protective effect of green tea extract on viability and stability of B. infantis ATCC 15697 and B. breve ATCC 15700 microencapsulated in chitosan coated alginate microcapsules during exposure to simulated gastrointestinal conditions and refrigerated storage. Results The major compound identified by HPLC-LC/MS in green tea was epigallocatechin gallate followed by caffeine and epigallocatechin. The survival yield of probiotic bacteria in microcapsules with 10% GT during storage at 4°C, demonstrated significantly (P B.infantis and B. breve with 5% and 10% GT showed a significantly (P  Conclusions The results of this study suggest that green tea coencapsulated with B. infantis or B. breve exert a protective effect of bacteria during exposure to gastrointestinal conditions and refrigerated storage. For a health perspective, the results confirm the growing interest probiotic bacteria and the perceived benefit of increasing their numbers in the gastrointestinal tract by microencapsulation.</p