The use of alternative sweeteners (sucralose and stevia) in healthy soft-drink beverages, enhances the bioavailability of polyphenols relative to the classical caloric sucrose

The comparison of non-caloric sweeteners (stevia and sucralose) and sucrose, on the plasma concentration and cumulative effects of phenolic compounds, was achieved. A long-term intervention, consisting of the daily intake of 330 mL of healthy citrus-maqui soft drinks, for 60 days, by 138 healthy overweight adults, was followed. A total of 24 bioavailable metabolites derived from caffeic acid, 3,4-di-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, eriodictyol, homoeriodictyol, hippuric acid, naringenin, 2,4,6-tri-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and vanillic acid were detected in peripheral blood plasma. A similar augment of bioactive compounds in plasma concentrations were found for the three beverages, in the range 12.3% (day 0)- 85.3% (day 60), depending on the analyte considered. Due to this, the present study highlights sucralose and stevia as valuable alternatives to sucrose, providing and non-significantly different plasma concentration and cumulative effect in the plasma, thus contributing to prevent a diversity of metabolic disorders and health constraints.This research was funded by the Spanish MINECO, grant number (AGL2016-75332-C2-1-R AEI / FEDER UE and PID2019-104212RB-I00/AEI/ 10.13039 / 501100011033). VA was supported by an FPI grant (BES-2017-082424). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. The authors declare no conflict of interest

Sweetener influences plasma concentration of flavonoids in humans after an acute intake of a new (poly)phenol-rich beverage

The overconsumption of sucrose is closely related to sugar-sweetened beverages and one of the main factors associated with the increase of metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and insulin resistance. So, the addition of alternative sweeteners to new fruit-based drinks could contribute to minimizing the incidence or severity of these pathologies. Nevertheless, current knowledge on the influence of these additives on the bioactive compounds present in these beverages is still scarce.new-onset hypertension, but few data were published in Asian. We aimed to investigate the association of lipid profiles with new-onset hypertension in a Chinese community-based non-hypertensive cohort without lipid-lowering treatment (n = 1802). Hence, to contribute to the understanding of this issue, the plasma concentration of phenolic compounds (anthocyanins and flavanones), after the ingestion of a new maqui-citrus-based beverage, supplemented with sucrose (natural high caloric), stevia (natural non-caloric), or sucralose (artificial non-caloric), was evaluated as evidence of their intestinal absorption and metabolism previous to renal excretion. The beverages were ingested by volunteers (n = 20) and the resulting phenolic metabolites in plasma were analyzed by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 13 metabolites were detected: caffeic acid sulfate, caffeic acid glucuronide, 3,4-dihydroxyfenylacetic, 3,4-dihydroxyfenylacetic sulfate. 3,4-dihydroxyfenylacetic acid di-sulfate, 3,4-dihydroxyfenylacetic di-glucuronide, 3,4-dihydroxyfenylacetic glucuronide-sulfate, trans-ferulic acid glucuronide, naringenin glucuronide, vanillic acid, vanillic acid sulfate, vanillic acid glucuronide-sulfate, and vanillic acid di-glucuronide, being recorded their maximum concentration after 30–60 min. In general, sucralose provided the greatest absorption value for most of these metabolites, followed by stevia. Due to this, the present study proposes sucralose and stevia (non-caloric sweeteners) as valuable alternatives to sucrose (high caloric sweetener), to avoid the augmented risk of several metabolic disorders.This work was funded by the Spanish MINECO through Research Project AGL2016-75332-C2-1-R (AEI/FEDER, UE). V.A. was supported by FPI (BES-2017-079754) grant of the Fellowship Program from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (MICIU)

Beverages based on second quality citrus fruits and maqui berry, a source of bioactive (Poly)phenols: Sorting out urine metabolites upon a longitudinal study

The intake of sugar-sweetened beverages has been associated with an augmented prevalence of metabolic diseases, namely, obesity, type II diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. On the other hand, nowadays, it is broadly accepted that foods and beverages rich in (poly)phenols could contribute to reducing the incidence of these pathologies. In this sense, the objective of the work was to revalue second quality citrus fruits for the development of new beverages, rich in anthocyanins and flavanones (maqui berry and second qualities citrus-based), and evaluate the influence of alternative sweeteners (sucralose, sucrose, or stevia), regarding the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of these bioactive compounds in the frame of a chronic (longitudinal) intervention. To fulfill this objective, a longitudinal study of the urinary excretion of anthocyanins and flavanones, after 2-months of ingestion of the developed maqui-citrus beverage, by 138 volunteers (n = 46 per beverage) and the analysis of the resulting phenolic metabolites by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS) was carried out. As major results, the bioavailable metabolites of caffeic acid (CA), catechol (CAT), 3,4-di-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (DHPAA), eriodictyol (E), homoeriodictyol (HE), hippuric acid (HA), naringenin (N), trans-ferulic acid (TFA), 2,4,6-tri-hydroxybenzaldehyde (THBA), trans-isoferulic acid (TIFA), and vanillic acid (VA) were detected. Accordingly, significantly different bioavailability was dependent on the sweetener used, allowing proposing stevia and, to a lower extent, sucralose, as valuable alternatives to sucrose.This research was funded by the Spanish MINECO, grant number (AGL2016-75332-C2-1-R AEI/FEDER UE and PID2019-104212RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). VA was supported by a FPI grant (BES-2017-082424)

A Box-Behnken Design for Optimal Extraction of Phenolics from Almond By-products

[EN] Response surface methodology (RSM) was chosen to optimize the influence of solvent pH and relative proportion, and time of extraction, regarding polyphenols and radical scavenging capacity of almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb) by-products (hulls, shells, and skins) from an almond orchard located in the North of Portugal (Lousa, Torre de Moncorvo). The RSM model was developed according to a Box-Behnken design and the optimal conditions were set for pH 6.5, 250.0 min, and 90.0% of food quality ethanol, pH 1.5, 235.0 min, and 63.0% ethanol, and pH 1.5, 250.0 min, and 56.0% ethanol for hulls, shells, and skins, respectively. The optimal conditions were obtained applying spectrophotometric techniques because of their versatility, while the chromatographic profile of extracts obtained when applied the optimal conditions indicated the presence of 3-caffeoylquinic acid, naringenin-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside, and isorhamnetin aglycone in hulls and skins. The model designed allowed the optimization of the phenolic extraction from almond by-products, demonstrating the potential of these materials as sources of antioxidant compounds with potential industrial, pharmaceutical, and food applications.IP received financial support from the FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/52539/2014), under the Doctoral Programme BAgricultural Production Chains-from fork to farm (PD/00122/2012). RDP was supported by a Postdoctoral Contract (Juan de la Cierva de Incorporacion ICJI-2015-25373) from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain. This work is supported by the National Funds by FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2019.Prgomet, I.; Gonçalves, B.; Domínguez-Perles, R.; Pascual-Seva, N.; Barros, A. (2019). A Box-Behnken Design for Optimal Extraction of Phenolics from Almond By-products. Food Analytical Methods. 12(9):2009-2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-019-01540-520092024129Aires A, Carvalho R, Saavedra MJ (2016) Valorization of solid wastes from chestnut industry processing: extraction and optimization of polyphenols, tannins and ellagitannins and its potential for adhesives, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry. 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Anthocyanin metabolites in human urine after the intake of new functional beverages

Sugar intake abuse is directly related with the increase of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and insulin resistance. Along this line, the development of new beverages using alternative sweeteners could help with combatting the pathophysiological disorders associated to the consumption of sugar. To provide evidence on this issue, in the present work, the bioavailability of anthocyanins was evaluated after the acute ingestion of a new maqui-citrus-based functional beverage rich in polyphenols, and supplemented with a range of sweeteners including sucrose (natural high caloric), stevia (natural non-caloric), and sucralose (artificial non-caloric), as an approach that would allow reducing the intake of sugars while providing bioactive phenolic compounds (anthocyanins). This approach allowed the evaluation of the maximum absorption and the diversity of metabolites excreted through urine. The beverages created were ingested by volunteers (n = 20) and the resulting anthocyanin metabolites in their urine were analyzed by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 29 degradation metabolites were detected: Caffeic acid, catechol, 3,4-dihidroxifenilacetic acid, hippuric acid, trans-ferulic acid, 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzaldehyde, trans-isoferulic acid, and vanillic acid derivatives, where peak concentrations were attained at 3.5 h after beverage intake. Sucralose was the sweetener that provided a higher bioavailability for most compounds, followed by stevia. Sucrose did not provide a remarkably higher bioavailability of any compounds in comparison with sucralose or stevia. The results propose two sweetener alternatives (sucralose and stevia) to sucrose, an overused high calorie sweetener that promotes some metabolic diseasesThis research was funded by the Spanish MINECO, grant number AGL2016-75332-C2-1-R and AGL-2016-75332-C2-2-R. VA was funded by a FPI grant (BES-2017-079754) of the Spanish MINECO. The APC was funded by the projects AGL2016-75332-C2-1-

Stevia vs. Sucrose: Influence on the phytochemical content of a citrus–maqui beverage—A shelf life stud

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been related with the risk of cardiovascular diseases and other pathophysiological situations, such as obesity or diabetes mellitus. Given the increasing awareness on this fact, food industries are developing new products to reduce the amount of added sugar in development of food products development. Accordingly, in the present work, new functional beverages, constituting a dietary source of bioactive phenolics and supplemented with stevia or sucrose, were designed in order to study the influence of the sweetener during processing and shelf-life. This study is of critical for the informed selection of the sweetener based on its e_ect on the final phytochemical profile of beverages, especially taking into consideration that there are no previous studies on Stevia rebaudiana. Physicochemical features and phytochemical composition, as well as stability of the di_erent beverages concerning these parameters, were evaluated for 90 days during storage under di_erent conditions (refrigeration (4 _C) and room temperatura (25 _C) under light or darkness conditions). Physicochemical parameters (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, and color) did not display statistically significant di_erences between beverages. Storage temperature was the greatest determinant a_ecting the stability of all the analyzed bioactive compounds (vitamin C, anthocyanins, and flavanones). The main di_erence between sweeteners was observed in flavanones, which exhibited a higher loss during storage under day light conditions when stevia was added instead of sucrose. In addition, the juices’ colors were rather stable, keeping a reddish coloration and natural appearance throughout the shelf life. Hence, stevia could be considered as an alternative sweetener by the beverage industry.This work was funded by the Spanish MINECO through Research Project AGL2016-75332-C2-1-R (AEI/FEDER, UE). F.J.S. and V.A. were supported by FPU (FPU18/00332) and FPI (BES-2017-079754) grant of the Fellowship Program from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (MICIU), respectively. We also thank Nuria Martí for the technical advice and processing at semi-industrial scale

Especificación de problemas reales para la enseñanza de la informática industrial

En este artículo exponemos una mejora que se aplicará en la especificación de los problemas que los alumnos de la asignatura “Informática Industrial” de segundo curso de la especialidad de electrónica resuelven mediante un miniproyecto desarrollado durante el curso. Hemos establecido una colaboración de intercambio de información con pequeñas empresas de la Comunidad Valenciana para la especificación de problemas reales. Esta colaboración entrará a funcionar de forma experimental este próximo año académico

Effect of a new rich in bioactive compounds beverage for energetic metabolism modulation in overweight adults

[SPA] En las últimas décadas se ha demostrado una relación positiva entre el consumo de bebidas azucaradas y el riesgo de obesidad, diabetes y enfermedades cardiovasculares. Para reducir el contenido en azúcares de los alimentos manteniendo un sabor agradable, se han propuesto nuevas opciones usando edulcorantes, aunque se cuestiona si dichos aditivos contribuyen a una mayor ingesta calórica o si producen efectos negativos a largo plazo. Además, para fomentar el consumo de frutas y hortalizas se están desarrollando nuevas formulaciones que aumenten la vida útil de las frutas frescas, preserven los nutrientes y reduzcan el contenido energético de los zumos de frutas. La investigación comenzará con el desarrollo de bebidas a base cítricos y maqui, ricas en compuestos bioactivos (poli) fenólicos, que incluyan edulcorantes no nutritivos de tipo natural (estevia). El estudio abarcará desde el desarrollo tecnológico alimentario hasta la caracterización fitoquímica de las bebidas en términos de antocianos. [ENG] In recent decades, a positive relationship has been demonstrated between the consumption of sugary drinks and the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. To reduce the sugar content of foods while maintaining a pleasant taste, new options have been proposed using sweeteners, although it is questioned whether these additives contribute to a higher caloric intake or if they produce negative long-term effects. In addition, to promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables, new formulations that increase the shelf life of fresh fruits, preserve nutrients and reduce the energy content of fruit juices are being developed. The research will begin with the development of citrus-based and maqui-based beverages, rich in bioactive (poly) phenolic compounds, which include non-nutritive natural sweeteners (stevia). The project will cover everything from food technological development to fitochemical characterization of the beverages in terms of anthocyanins.Colaboración y asesoramiento técnico a escala semi-industrial de la Dra Martí (UMH) y financiación del proyecto coordinado AGL2016-75332-C2-1-R

Enseñanza de la informática industrial mediante proyectos reales simplificados

En este artículo presentamos una iniciativa para las asignaturas de Informática Industrial de especialidades de Electrónica enfocada a fomentar en los alumnos la capacidad para afrontar proyectos de diseño de sistemas informáticos industriales. La idea fundamental es emplear un proyecto real simplificado para que sirva de esqueleto en la explicación y comprensión de contenidos teóricos y en el fomento de las necesarias aptitudes

Influence of sweeteners intake in anthocyanins metabolism in humans

[SPA] En las últimas décadas se ha encontrado una relación positiva entre el consumo de bebidas azucaradas y el riesgo de padecer obesidad, diabetes y/o enfermedades cardiovasculares. Para reducir el contenido en azúcares de los alimentos, manteniendo un sabor agradable, se han propuesto nuevas opciones usando edulcorantes alternativos con baja carga calórica. En este estudio se estableció una comparativa, en términos de biodisponibilidad de antocianos en humanos sanos tras la ingesta en agudo de una bebida de maqui y cítricos, endulzada con estevia, sucralosa o sacarosa. La sucralosa fue el endulzante que proporcionó una mayor biodisponibilidad para la mayoría de los compuestos derivados de antocianos, seguido de la estevia, indicando que pueden ser dos buenas alternativas al uso de sacarosa, un endulzante calórico que interviene en algunas enfermedades metabólicas.[ENG] In recent decades, a positive relationship has been demonstrated between the consumption of sugary drinks and the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. To reduce the sugar content of foods, while maintaining a pleasant taste, new options have been proposed using alternative sweeteners. In this aspect, this study compares stevia, sucralose and sucrose, added to maqui and citrus beverages, in terms of anthocyanin bioavailability in healthy humans after acute administration. Sucralose was the sweetener that provided higher bioavailability for most anthocyanin-derived compounds, followed by stevia, indicating that they can be two good alternatives to the use of sucrose, a high caloric sweetener overused that promotes some metabolic diseases.Este trabajo fue parcialmente financiado por el MINECO español a través del Proyecto de Investigación AGL2016-75332-C2-1-R, y VA por una subvención del FPI (BES-2017-082424)