Tarragon extract as a functional ingredient for development of new pizza dough

Plants are used in various fields due their sensory, nutritional and medicinal properties, and aromatic plants can be used as functional food ingredients to enhance organoleptic properties and/or to replace the salt. Additionally, their large amount of bioactive compounds, namely phenolic compounds (PC), can contribute to food preservation, promote human health (Costa et al., 2015), and provide bioactive effects. Tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus L., usually known for its pleasant spicy aroma, is widely used in food preparations (Hassanzadeh et al., 2016). In this work, a lyophilized hydroethanolic tarragon extract was characterized in terms of PC and bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities and further used to develop functional foods namely by its incorporation in pizza dough.POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (LA LSRE-LCM), funded by FEDER, through POCI-COMPETE2020 and FCT; Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, funded by NORTE2020 under the PT2020, through ERDF; FCT and ERDF under PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). Andreia Ribeiro acknowledges her PhD fellowship funded by Project NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000028, supported by N2020, under PT2020, through ESF.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tarragon extract as a functional ingredient for development of new pizza dough

Plants are used in various fields due their sensory, nutritional and medicinal properties, and aromatic plants can be used as functional food ingredients to enhance organoleptic properties and/or to replace the salt. Additionally, their large amount of bioactive compounds, namely phenolic compounds (PC), can contribute to food preservation, promote human health (Costa et al., 2015), and provide bioactive effects. Tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus L., usually known for its pleasant spicy aroma, is widely used in food preparations (Hassanzadeh et al., 2016). In this work, a lyophilized hydroethanolic tarragon extract was characterized in terms of PC and bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities and further used to develop functional foods namely by its incorporation in pizza dough.POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (LA LSRE-LCM), funded by FEDER, through POCI-COMPETE2020 and FCT; Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, funded by NORTE2020 under the PT2020, through ERDF; FCT and ERDF under PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). Andreia Ribeiro acknowledges her PhD fellowship funded by Project NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000028, supported by N2020, under PT2020, through ESF.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Emulsions preparation based on ternary phase diagrams: comparative study using two oils (Miglyol and sweet almond) with two distinct surfactants (Tween 80 and Saponin)

An emulsion is a colloidal dispersion composed by a mixture of two immiscible liquids, being one the dispersed phase, as droplets, and the other one the continuous phase. In this work, a comparative study comprising the surfactants Tween 80 (synthetic surfactant) and Saponin (natural surfactant) and the oils Miglyol 812 and Sweet Almond was performed. The development of emulsions based on ternary phase diagrams showed that different phases can be formed giving rise to different formulations: microemulsions, gels, and mixtures with 1, 2 and 3 phases. The application of the HPH technique produced stable nanoemulsions with narrow distributions. Considering Tween 80, and comparing the two oils, Miglyol 812 gave rise to emulsions with lower particle size (0.023μm), comparatively to Sweet Almond Oil (1.009μm). This difference can be related with the oil viscosity, which is lower for Miglyol 812. Comparing the two surfactants, natural Saponin was very effective in the o/w composition range.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Saponins as natural emulsifiers for nanoemulsions

The awareness of sustainability approaches has focused attention on replacing synthetic emulsifiers with natural alternatives when formulating nanoemulsions. In this context, a comprehensive review of the different types of saponins being successfully used to form and stabilize nanoemulsions is presented, highlighting the most common natural sources and biosynthetic routes. Processes for their extraction and purification are also reviewed altogether with the recent advances for their characterization. Concerning the preparation of the nanoemulsions containing saponins, the focus has been initially given to screening methods, lipid phase used, and production procedures, but their characterization and delivery systems explored are also discussed. Most experimental outcomes showed that the saponins present high performance, but the challenges associated with the saponins’ broader application, mainly the standardization for industrial use, are identified. Future perspectives report, among others, the emerging biotechnological processes and the use of byproducts in a circular economy context.This work was financially supported by Base Funding − UIDB/00690/2020 of CIMO − Centro de Investigação de Montanha funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), Funding UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/50020/2020 of LSRE-LCM funded by national funds through FCT/ MCTES (PIDDAC), and project AIProc-Mat@N2020 − NORTE-01-0145-FEDER 000006 supported by NORTE 2020 under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through ERDF. T.B.S. thanks FCT and European Social Fund (ESF) for the Ph.D. grant (2020.05564.BD).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microalgae-derived pigments: a 10-year bibliometric review and industry and market trend analysis

Microalgae productive chains are gaining importance as sustainable alternatives to obtain natural pigments. This work presents a review on the most promising pigments and microalgal sources by gathering trends from a 10 year bibliometric survey, a patents search, and an industrial and market analysis built from available market reports, projects and companies’ webpages. The performed analysis pointed out chlorophylls, phycocyanin, astaxanthin, and β-carotene as the most relevant pigments, and Chlorella vulgaris, Spirulina platensis, Haematococcus pluvialis, and Dunaliella salina, respectively, as the most studied sources. Haematococcus is referred in the highest number of patents, corroborating a high technological interest in this microalga. The biorefinery concept, investment in projects and companies related to microalgae cultivation and/or pigment extraction is increasingly growing, particularly, for phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis. These pieces of evidence are a step forward to consolidate the microalgal pigments market, which is expected to grow in the coming years, increasing the prospects of replacing synthetic pigments by natural counterparts.CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and LA LSRE-LCM (UIDB/50020/2020) base funding by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). AIProcMat@N2020 Ref. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, supported by NORTE 2020 under the Portugal 2020 partnership agreement, through ERDF fund. National funding by FCT through the individual research grant SFRH/BD/148281/2019 (Samara C. Silva).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preparation of nano-hydroxyapatite/chitosan aqueous dispersions: from lab scale to continuous production using an innovative static mixer

Chitosan is widely used in the preparation of organic-inorganic composite materials, such as n-HAp/CS composites, which findapplication for bone regeneration. The methods for their preparation are various, and usually based on the preparation of intermediate n-HAp/CS dispersions, which can greatly influence the final properties of the resulting composites since it is expected that homogenous and stable dispersions lead to composite materials with improved final properties. This work hypothesizes that, additionally to process parameters such as pH, n-HAp/CS weight ratio, mixing conditions and the presence of salts, chitosan itself has a high impact on dispersions stability. Thus, the importance of properly control the preparation of the n-HAp/CS intermediate dispersions is highlighted by doing a systematic study where relevant processing parameters were studied at lab scale using ultrasonication, alone or in the presence of chitosan, namely on particle size and zeta potential. Furthermore, and based on the best laboratorial conditions, the production of n-HAp/CS nanocomposite dispersions in continuous mode was attempted through NETmix® technology,an innovative static mixer and reactor developed at the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto(FEUP).Financial support for this work was provided in part by project Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 – Associate Laboratory LSRELCM funded by FEDER through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) – and by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, and by “AIProcMat@N2020 - Advanced Industrial Processes and Materials for a Sustainable Northern Region of Portugal 2020”, with reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, supported by NORTE 2020 under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). FCT and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). G. Ruphuy thanks Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones de Costa Rica (MICITT) for her scholarship. Authors thank Fluidinova S.A. for providing the HAp samples.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antiangiogenic compounds: well-established drugs versus emerging natural molecules

Angiogenesis is the natural and physiologic process of growing blood vessels from pre-existing ones. Pathological angiogenesis occurs when the precise balance of all the molecular pathways that regulate angiogenesis is disrupted, and this process is a critical step in many diseases, including cancer. A limited number of antiangiogenic synthetic drugs have been developed. However, due to toxicity and side effects issues, the search for alternative to existing drugs is ongoing. In this sense, natural molecules obtained from plants or macrofungi, have demonstrated extraordinary potential in the treatment of angiogenesis-related pathologies, specially taking into consideration its absence or very low toxicity, when compared to synthetic drugs. Using natural compounds as potential angiogenesis modulators is thus a promising field of research, supporting the creation of novel therapies able to reduce the use of drugs and associated side effects. In this review, the current status of antiangiogenic drugs and the wide variety of natural extracts and molecules with antiangiogenic capacities, as well as the angiogenesis molecular pathways and therapeutic targets, are presented. Finally, the challenges that need to be overcome in order to increase the use of natural compounds for clinical purposes are discussed.POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (LA LSRE-LCM), funded by FEDER, through POCI-COMPETE2020 and FCT; Project NORTE-01-0145- FEDER-000006, funded by NORTE2020 under the PT2020, through ERDF; FCT and ERDF under PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). Andreia Ribeiro acknowledges her PhD fellowship funded by Project NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000028, supported by N2020, under PT2020, through ESF.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of temperature, pH and ionic strength on hydroxyapatite stabilised Pickering emulsions produced in batch and continuous mode

Oil-in-water (O/W) Pickering emulsions are attracting attention as carriers of lipophilic active compounds with clear advantages over traditional systems. Having in view their effective use it is important to study their stability against environmental stresses impacting manufacture, storage, and application conditions. In this work, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (n-HAp) Pickering emulsions produced in continuous mode using a mesostructured reactor (average size ~ 7, 11 and 18 μm) and in batch mode using a rotor–stator device (average size ~ 18 μm) were studied concerning their behaviour at different temperatures (5–90 ºC), pH (2–10) and ionic strength (0–500 mM), conditions with relevance for food applications. Droplet size, morphology, and zeta-potential were analysed after 1 and 7 days under storage. In general, and despite the droplet size, the n-HAp Pickering emulsions were stable within the tested ionic strength range, at relatively high pH environments (6–10), and at temperatures up to 70 ºC. Pickering emulsions undergo complete phase separation at very low pH (2) due to n-HAp particle's disruption. A clear tendency to aggregation and coalescence was observed for high temperatures (70–90 ºC). Results indicate no significant differences related to the used production method. From an industrial perspective, this work also corroborates that the scale-up to a continuous process using a mesostructured reactor, NETmix, from a batch laboratorial process is feasible without impacting stability.This work was financially supported by LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/50020/2020 (LSRE-LCM), and UIDB/00690/2020 (CIMO) funded by national funds through FCT/ MCTES (PIDDAC). Andreia Ribeiro acknowledges her PhD fellowship funded by Project NORTE-08–5369-FSE-000028, supported by N2020, under PT2020, through ESF. Authors thank Fluidinova S.A. for providing samples of nanoXIM-CarePaste.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Continuous production of hydroxyapatite Pickering emulsions using a mesostructured reactor

Emulsions are used in a wide range of applications, including food and cosmetics. Nowadays, the demand for sustainable products has increased with Pickering emulsions emerging as clean alternatives. To achieve the industrial implementation of Pickering emulsions, continuous production and less intensive energy devices are required. In this context, a mesostructured reactor based on an innovative static mixer, NETmix, was tested to produce Pickering emulsions from a previously developed formulation in batch mode. The effect of the number of cycles (2–35) and Reynolds number (200–500), parameters that influence the residence time and the quality of mixing, on the Pickering emulsion properties (average droplet size, droplet morphology, and stability) was studied. The obtained results pointed out the feasibility of using NETmix to produce Pickering emulsions. It is a versatile technique to control in a tailor-made way the droplet size and generate small droplets at short times. Results show a decrease of the droplet size with increasing number of cycles and Reynolds. Under the tested conditions, stable dispersions with droplet size of ∼7 μm were produced using 17 cycles and Re = 400. Microscopy images show an oil core and nano-hydroxyapatite shell morphology.This work was financially supported by: Base Funding - UIDB/50020/2020 of the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM - funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), and Base Funding - UIDB/00690/2020 of CIMO - Centro de Investigação de Montanha - funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Andreia Ribeiro acknowledges her PhD fellowship funded by Project NORTE-08-5369-FSE- 000028, supported by N2020, under PT2020, through ESF. Authors thank Fluidinova S.A. for providing nanoXIM-CarePaste, and the Centro de Materiais da Universidade do Porto (CEMUP) and Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) for the services provided with cryo-SEM and CLSM analysis, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Moringa oleifera L. screening: SFE-CO2 optimisation and chemical composition of seed, leaf, and root extracts as potential cosmetic ingredients

Moringa oleifera L. tree (Mo) has emerged as a rich alternative source of bioactive compounds to design cosmetic formulations. Supercritical carbon dioxide fluid extraction (SFE-CO2) was successfully applied on the screening of Mo seed, leaf, and root extracts. The extraction yield was evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM), for pressure and temperature ranges of 117–273 bar and 41–60 C, respectively, using a design of experiments (DOE). The pressure significantly affected the results (a = 0.05), with the highest extraction efficiency obtained at conditions above 195 bar. The extracts’ composition, evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), revealed an increasing correlation between the pressure, total extract solubility, and mass of extract at a constant temperature, due to the higher extraction yield. Seed extracts presented more than 80% of oleic acid in relative composition (8.04 mgcompound gplantpart -1). Leaf extracts performed well for the obtainment of linolenic acid (>20%; 3.10 mg g-1), nonacosane (>22%; 0.46 mg g-1), and -tocopherol (>20%; 0.21 mg g-1). Mo root resulted in higher relative composition for sterol molecules, despite its very low affinity with CO2. The most promising bioactive compounds, oleic acid and -tocopherol, were more abundant when operating at 250 bar at 45 C and 195 bar at 55 C, for Mo seed and leaf SFE-CO2 extracts, respectively.This work was financially supported by LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/50020/2020 (LSRE-LCM), UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020 (CIMO) and LA/P/0007/2021 (SusTEC), funded by national funds through the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Júlia Cristiê Kessler acknowledges her PhD scholarship (ref. 2020.06656.BD) from FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio