Saliva from obese individuals suppresses the release of aroma compounds from wine.

BackgroundRecent evidence suggests that a lower extent of the retronasal aroma release correspond to a higher amount of ad libitum food intake. This has been regarded as one of the bases of behavioral choices towards food consumption in obese people. In this pilot study we investigated the hypothesis that saliva from obese individuals could be responsible for an alteration of the retro-nasal aroma release. We tested this hypothesis in vitro, by comparing the release of volatiles from a liquid food matrix (wine) after its interaction with saliva from 28 obese (O) and 28 normal-weight (N) individuals.Methods and findingsAmplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region indicated that Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were more abundant in O, while Proteobacteria and Fusobacteria dominated in N. Streptococcaceae were significantly more abundant in the O subjects and constituted 34% and 19% on average of the saliva microbiota of O and N subjects, respectively. The Total Antioxidant Capacity was higher in O vs N saliva samples. A model mouth system was used to test whether the in-mouth wine aroma release differs after the interaction with O or N saliva. In O samples, a 18% to 60% significant decrease in the mean concentration of wine volatiles was detected as a result of interaction with saliva, compared with N. This suppression was linked to biochemical differences in O and N saliva composition, which include protein content.ConclusionMicrobiological and biochemical differences were found in O vs N saliva samples. An impaired retronasal aroma release from white wine was detected in vitro and linked to compositional differences between saliva from obese and normal-weight subjects. Additional in vivo investigations on diverse food matrices could contribute to understanding whether a lower olfactory stimulation due to saliva composition can be a co-factor in the development/maintenance of obesity

Protective Activity of Broccoli Sprout Juice in a Human Intestinal Cell Model of Gut Inflammation

Benefits to health from a high consumption of fruits and vegetables are well established and have been attributed to bioactive secondary metabolites present in edible plants. However, the effects of specific health-related phytochemicals within a complex food matrix are difficult to assess. In an attempt to address this problem, we have used elicitation to improve the nutraceutical content of seedlings of Brassica oleracea grown under controlled conditions. Analysis, by LC-MS, of the glucosinolate, isothiocyanate and phenolic compound content of juices obtained from sprouts indicated that elicitation induces an enrichment of several phenolics, particularly of the anthocyanin fraction. To test the biological activity of basal and enriched juices we took advantage of a recently developed in vitro model of inflamed human intestinal epithelium. Both sprouts’ juices protected intestinal barrier integrity in Caco-2 cells exposed to tumor necrosis factor under marginal zinc deprivation, with the enriched juice showing higher protection. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the extent of rescue from stress-induced epithelial dysfunction correlated with the composition in bioactive molecules of the juices and, in particular, with a group of phenolic compounds, including several anthocyanins, quercetin-3-Glc, cryptochlorogenic, neochlorogenic and cinnamic acids

Eeg frontal asymmetry related to pleasantness of olfactory stimuli in young subjects

It is widely known, in neuroscientific literature, that the brain prefrontal cortex activity asymmetry is closely linked with the pleasantness emotion experienced by the subject during a sensorial stimulation. Thus, from the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal it is possible to estimate the approach/withdrawal index, and this index has been largely investigated and validated in scientific literature, regarding visual and acoustic stimuli. In this work, we present an innovative study aimed to prove, in a systematic way, that such brain AW index is actually correlated with the “pleasant” or “no-pleasant” perception also of olfactory stimuli, conveniently produced by standardised methods in the sensory specific scientific literature. In particular, we recorded the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal from a group, gender balanced, of 24 healthy and no-smokers subjects during the perception of ten different smells, presented by means of the “Screening test-odour identification” set (Sniffin’ sticks, Burghart). The cerebral AW indexes of all the subjects, for each odorous stimulus, were compared with the appreciation numeric score assessed by the subject during the experiment, by performing a statistical correlation test. Findings show that it is possible to evaluate the pleasantness or no-pleasantness of odorous substances by means of the analysis of EEG signals collected during the presentation of such substances, making way for new applications of such measure kind in experimental environments more and more ecological, as the typical ones of the marketing research areas

Impact of different temperature abuse scenarios on sensory quality and off-odour formation in ready-to-eat salad leaves

Packages of ready-to-eat (RTE) wild rocket and lettuce baby leaves were subjected during 8 days of cold storage to a chronic temperature abuse (CTA) at sub-optimal storage temperature (10 °C) or to a shortterm (6 h) abuse at ambient temperature (STA) to evaluate the impact of two temperature abuse scenarios on gas composition within the packages, leaf sensory quality and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In both species, the CTA scenario had a markedly higher impact on gas composition, sensory quality and off-odour formation than the STA, and the limit of sensory acceptability was reached in the CTA scenario 4 days or more earlier than in the STA. Sulphur compounds were the main responsible for offodour perception in both leafy salads. Results from the present study may be useful in the assessment of critical points in the cold chain of RTE fresh produce and in prioritising actions towards improved coldchain management

Sensory Traits and Consumer’s Perceived Quality of Traditional and Modern Fresh Market Tomato Varieties: A Study in Three European Countries

Consumer dissatisfaction with the flavor quality of many modern fresh market tomato varieties has fostered breeders’ interest in sensory quality improvement, and the demand for traditional varieties, which are generally associated with better flavor. To achieve further knowledge on the factors influencing the sensory quality and consumers’ preferences and perception, European traditional and modern fresh market tomato varieties were grown and evaluated in France, Italy, and Spain. Different growing conditions were tested in France (soilless vs. soil) and in Spain (open field vs. greenhouse), while in Italy fruits were evaluated at two ripening stages. Fruit quality was assessed by integrating physicochemical analyses, sensory profiles, and consumer tests. In all three countries, overall modern varieties were perceived as having more intense “tomato flavor” and “overall flavor” than traditional ones. In France and Spain, consumers’ preferences were more oriented towards modern varieties than traditional ones. Significant growing condition effects were found on sensory and physicochemical traits, while the effect on consumers’ overall liking was not significant, largely depending on the genotype. A fair agreement between product configurations from descriptive analysis by trained assessors and Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) questions by consumers was observed. Penalty-lift analysis based on CATA allowed identifying positive and negative drivers of liking

The role of the IRILD Consortium in the European DEDIPAC-KH project

The IRILD Consortium (partner in the DEDIPAC-KH joint Action) has been working in a few activities of Thematic Area1 and Thematic Area2 aimed at: -Developing a toolbox with state-of-the-art methods to assess dietary intake and their determinants based on their quality and suitability to be used in pan-European studies (task 1.1.1)- Identifying existing pan-European datasets including dietary intake to do secondary analysis according to variation in dietary intake by demographic (task 1.1.2)- Examining the validity and reliability of the measurement methods employed to assess physical activity and sedentary behaviours on children/adolescent and adults populations (task 1.2.4)-Identifying national state-of-the-art surveillance systems and infrastructures in Europe (task 1.3.3).-Mapping and defining life course determinants, correlates and key research challenges of dietary intake in old population (task 2.1.1)-Mapping and defining life course determinants, correlates and key research challenges of physical activity behaviour (task 2.2.1)Theoretical frameworks of determinants have been taken as the starting point for developing the frameworks and taxonomies. On-going/recently finished EU-funded projects on determinants has been consulted. Finally, SRLs have been conducted .The IRILD (Infrastructure to support Research In promoting active Lifestyles and healthy Diet) Consortium has been contributing to obtain the following results: Methodological assessment and measurements for evaluation of vitamin B12 and folate intake have been extracted. Information on the validity and reliability of assessment methods were collected and all essential data for a toolbox have been prepared (task 1.1.1);A report on variation of food consumption throughout Europe, concerning a secondary analysis to estimate food habits variation by food groups in different European age-gender population groups, has been prepared (task 1.1.2);Methodological effectiveness of measures of PA and SB on children/adolescent and adults populations have been examined (task 1.2.4);Information on nutritional surveillance in Italy have been delivered for sub-task 1.3.3.1 (task 1.3.3); Systematic Literature Review on determinants of dietary intake in community-dwelling older adults to get an overview is going to be concluded (task 2.1.1). The IRILD consortium was financially supported by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture Food and Forestry Policies (DM.14474/7303/13)