Hydrocolloid-Based Coatings are Effective at Reducing Acrylamide and Oil Content of French Fries

French fries are popular products worldwide. However, this product is a sufferable source of high acrylamide due to high temperature and low moisture. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of grass pea flour (GPF), transglutaminase (TGase)-treated (GPF + TGase), chitosan (CH), and pectin (PEC) hydrocolloid coating solutions on the formation of acrylamide, water retention as well as on oil content. In addition, the Daily Intake (DI) and Margin of Exposure (MOE) were calculated to estimate variations in risk assessment by applying coating solutions before frying. Our results showed that the highest acrylamide content was detected in the control sample, reaching a value of 2089 µg kg−1 . Hydrocolloid coating solutions were demonstrated to be an effective way to reduce acrylamide formation, with the percentage of acrylamide reduction equal to 48% for PEC, >38% for CH, ≥37% for GPF + TGase, and >31% for GPF, respectively. We hypothesized that the coatings were able to increase the water retention and, thus reduce the Maillard reaction, which is responsible for acrylamide formation. In fact, the MOE value for coated French fries was increase, resulting in being closer to the safety level to avoid carcinogenic risk. Moreover, our coatings were effective in reducing oil uptake

Edible Films Made of Dried Olive Leaf Extract and Chitosan: Characterization and Applications

Nowadays a possible strategy in food preservation consists of the use of active and functional packaging to improve safety and ensure a longer shelf life of food products. Many studies refer to chitosan-based films because of the already-known chitosan (CH) antibacterial and antifungal activity. In this work, we developed CH-based films containing Dried Olive Leaf Extract (DOLE) obtained by Naviglio extractor, with the aim to investigate the polyphenols yield and the antioxidant activity of this extract entrapped in CH-based-edible films. Olive tree cultivation produces a huge amount of byproducts that are usually simply burned. Phenolic compounds are already studied for their beneficial effects on human health. Some studies reported that phenols isolated from olive leaves have been shown to inhibit the growth of different strains of microorganisms. Thus, the antimicrobial effect of DOLE-containing films against bacterial strains (Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC® 14028, Salmonella enteritidis RIVM 706, and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC® 29212) was tested in vitro. The DOLE component of the films is effective in inhibiting all the bacteria tested in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, it was demonstrated that these edible films can act as active bioplastics when used to wrap hamburgers in substitution for baking paper, which is normally used

Transglutaminase-catalyzed preparation of chitosan-ovalbumin films

Microbial transglutaminase was employed as catalyst for preparing chitosan–ovalbumin films. The films showed low solubility at a wide range of pH and underwent to a good enzymatic hydrolysis with trypsin. The degree of swelling was reduced and the mechanical resistance of the chitosan–ovalbumin films increased from 24 to 35MPa after enzymatic treatment with transglutaminase. The barrier efficiency toward water vapour was slightly improved for the films prepared by transglutaminase-mediated cross-linking

Swelling, mechanical and barrier properties of albedo-based films prepared in the presence of phaseolin crosslinked or not by transglutaminase

Edible films were obtained from Citrus paradisi grapefruit albedo homogenates and bean protein phaseolin modified or not by the enzyme transglutaminase. Swelling capability, barrier performance to water vapor, oxygen and carbon dioxide, and mechanical properties of such films were investigated. The addition of the protein, mostly in the presence of transglutaminase, provide films less swellable at pH values above 5 compared to films made by albedo homogenates only, whereas the action of the enzyme clearly improves mechanical properties producing more stretchable and elastic films. Moreover, transglutaminase-mediated cross-linking of phaseolin gives rise to films less permeable to carbon dioxide and able to offer a high barrier to water vapor. These findings suggest that albedo-phaseolin film prepared in the presence of transglutaminase can be a promising candidate to be used as food edible wrap

Functionality of Films from Nigella sativa Defatted Seed Cake Proteins Plasticized with Grape Juice: Use in Wrapping Sweet Cherries

The main aim of this work is to improve the functionality of Nigella sativa protein concentrate (NSPC) films by using grape juice (GJ). The film’s mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities were evaluated. The obtained results showed, for the first time, that GJ at concentrations of 2%–10% (v/v) are able to act as plasticizer for the NSPC films with promising film properties. The results showed that the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of NSPC films were reduced significantly when the GJ increased. However, the NSPC films prepared with 6% GJ observed a higher elongation at break compared with other films. Moreover, the obtained films showed very interesting and promising results for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties compared with the control films. The sweet cherries wrapped with NSPC film showed that the TSS (Brix) was significantly lower compared to the control, after 10 days of storage. However, the titratable acidity, pH value, and L* of all cherries, either wrapped or not, was not significantly different in all storage times. On the other hand, hue angle was significantly lower after 10 days of storage at −18 °C compared with control films. GJ has a multi-functional effect for protein-based films as plasticizer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial function

Stabilization of Charged Polysaccharide Film Forming Solution by Sodium Chloride: Nanoparticle Z-Average and Zeta-Potential Monitoring

Different natural biopolymers are becoming the issue of an expanding number of studies reporting their potential applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic technologies, as well as in tissues engineering . In this respect, the utilization of charged polysaccharides like chitosan (CH) or pectin (PEC) appears to be one of the most interesting way in manufacturing of biodegradable new materials

Impact of transglutaminase treatment on properties and in vitro digestibility of white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) flour

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are rich in nutrients and have significant amounts of proteins and complex carbohydrates, besides to be rich in unsaturated fatty acids and dietary fibres. Consumption of beans could be improved by processing them into flour. In this study the effect of microbial transglutaminase (TG) on the structure, physical (colour parameters, moisture, water holding capacity), thermal properties and in vitro digestion of undehulled (WB) and manually dehulled (SB) flour samples from white common beans (P. vulgaris L.) was evaluated. Flour samples were incubated in the absence and presence of TG (WB/TG and SB/TG). We observed that the enzyme is able to catalyse the formation of polymers, suggesting that the proteins occurring in the bean flour act as TG substrates. Microstructure of samples was examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), while thermal properties were studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Microstructural results showed that the TG-treated samples possess a more compact structure, made of starch granules surrounded by proteins that, presumably, contain TG-catalysed polymers. Moreover, TG treatment had a major impact on colour, water holding capacity (WHC) and thermal properties. In particular, WB and SB samples presented a darker colour than WB/TG and SB/TG samples, while the latter showed reduced WHC that was only 30% and 37% of WB and SB samples, respectively. The transition enthalpy (ΔH) in the temperature range from 57 to 70 °C (WB, WB/TG) and from 60 to 68 °C (SB, SB/TG) followed the order: WB/TG > WB and SB/TG > WB, respectively. In vitro digestion experiments indicate that the presence of isopeptide bonds decreased the digestibility of TG-treated flour samples

Chitosan-whey protein edible films produced in the absence or presence of transglutaminase: Analysis of their mechanical and barrier properties

Chitosan-whey protein edible films with different protein concentrations were prepared in the absence or presence of microbial transglutaminase as cross-linking agent. The films prepared in the presence of the enzyme showed low solubility at a wide range of pH, a lower degree of swelling, and good biodegradability following protease treatments. The presence of transglutaminase induced also an enhancement in film mechanical resistance and a reduction in their deformability. Finally, the barrier efficiency toward oxygen and carbon dioxide was found to be markedly improved in the cross-linked films which showed also a lower permeability to water vapor. Some potential practical applications of transglutaminase-treated chitosan-whey protein films are suggested

improving the health quality of fried falafel middle eastern food by using transglutaminase and or pectin coating

The most disadvantage of the fried falafel balls are the highest level of acrylamide formed during Maillard reaction. Falafel balls are one of the largest deep fat frying fast food in the Middle East made basically of chickpeas. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adding transglutaminase (TG, E.C. 2.3.2.13) to the falafel dough followed or not by dipping into pectin (PEC 1%) coating solution. Acrylamide, oil and water content of the fried falafel balls treated or not by TG (5 or 20U/g of chickpea proteins) and coated or not with PEC-containing film forming solutions were evaluated. In addition, the texture profile analyses were carried out. We observed, by TOF LC/MS, that the acrylamide content was reduced, compared to control sample, by 10.8% and 34.4% in the samples set up by adding 5 and 20 U TG/g respectively. In PEC-coated samples, acrylamide reduction was about by 59%, 65.3% and 84.5%, in falafel balls prepared either without of TG or containing 5U or 20 U of the enzyme, respectively, suggesting that TG-mediated crosslinks increase the water content inside the falafel balls, thus, reducing the rate of Maillard reaction. However, TG treatment does not affect oil content, while the PEC coating reduces the oil uptake about 23.5%. Finally, no difference was observed between the control sample and the one dipped in PEC regarding their texture properties hardness, chewiness and gumminess, while these properties were influenced in samples set up in the presence of the enzyme