Characterization of kefir produced in household conditions: Physicochemical and nutritional profile, and storage stability

Kefir, a traditional fermented food, has numerous health benefits due to its unique chemical composition, which is reflected in its excellent nutritional value. Physicochemical and microbial composition of kefir obtained from fermented milk are influenced by the type of the milk, grain to milk ratio, time and temperature of fermentation, and storage conditions. It is crucial that kefir characteristics are maintained during storage since continuous metabolic activities of residual kefir microbiota may occur. This study aimed to examine the nutritional profile of kefir produced in traditional in use conditions by fermentation of ultra-high temperature pasteurized (UHT) semi-skimmed cow milk using argentinean kefir grains and compare the stability and nutritional compliance of freshly made and refrigerated kefir. Results indicate that kefir produced under home use conditions maintains the expected characteristics with respect to the physicochemical parameters and composition, both after fermentation and after refrigerated storage. This work further contributes to the characterization of this food product that is so widely consumed around the world by focusing on kefir that was produced in a typical household setting.Emília Alves and Epole Ntungwe acknowledge ALIES, Portugal for the grant PADDIC 2019–2020 and 2020–2021. The authors gratefully thank Professor Angela Leon, from the Centro de Investigacíon y Desarrollo en Criotecnologia de Alimentos (CIDCA), Universidad de La Plata, Argentina, for providing the CIDCA AGK1 kefir grains. 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). L. Barros would like to thank the national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract. To the project AllNat for the contract of C. Caleja (Project AllNat POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030463) and to the Project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural® for the contract of E. Pereira.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Edible flowers as an emerging horticultural product: A review on sensorial properties, mineral and aroma profile

Background: The current consumer needs for functional and healthy foods, as well as for diversified diets that include a variety of food sources have created a market niche for novel horticultural products such as edible flowers and related food formulations. Scope and approach: Considering the increasing interest on this crop production sector during the last few years, this review aims to compile the most relevant data regarding the production and marketing aspects of edible flowers, focusing on pre- and postharvest parameters that should be taken into account to facilitate their successful marketing. Moreover, this review presents the most important flower species that have been traditionally used or suggested for edible uses, while the sensorial attributes and the mineral profile of edible flowers are also presented. A special section is dedicated to the aroma components and the essential oils of several flower species focusing on those reports which refer to species with edible uses, while the bioactivities of these compounds are also cited. Finally, future remarks regarding the next steps that are required for the establishment of this new food segment in the market and the consumer awareness for related products are discussed. Key findings and conclusions: Edible flowers is a promising and challenging horticultural crop which could provide alternative solutions to farmers under the ongoing climate changing, having also in mind the sustainable use of natural resources, the diversification of agroecosystems and the preservation of biodiversity. Moreover, food industry could benefit by covering market demands for functional and healthy foods through the development of novel floral-based foods and food formulations, thus allowing the valorization of species that are unexplored or underexplored so far

Powering the activity of natural phenol compounds by bioinspired chemical manipulation

Bio-based manipulation of polyphenols scaffolds like thiol conjugation, amino compounds condensation, or selenylation results in a marked improvement of their antioxidant activity, without conferring appreciable toxicity, and inducing in most cases unexpected interesting properties including photoresponsiveness, ability of forming films with prooxidant activity or peculiar chromophores. Enhanced antioxidant potency was also obtained by activation of phenolic materials from agricultural or food industry wastes under acid hydrolytic conditions. These results provide the basis of innovative strategies for the development of food supplements and/or functional foods, and exploitation of phenolic materials in the implementation of biomedical devices and smart packaging