Seaweeds : a traditional ingredients for new gastronomic sensation

Seaweeds have a long tradition in Asian cuisine. In Canada and US, seaweed consumption is mostly limited to sushi and other imported Asian dish. However, seaweeds are well recognized for their richness in several nutrients such as fiber, protein and minerals. But what is limiting seaweed and seaweed derived ingredients utilization in home cooking? Finding fresh seaweeds within inland cities is one limiting step but also the seaweed marketing need to propel the image that seaweed are not only nutritive but can bring flavor and texture in cuisine dish. With the rise of TV cooking shows, blogs and online recipes hosted by several renowned chefs, it is now time to bring seaweed in the spotlight. The aim of this review is to look at seaweeds to support a wider use in culinary applications for their nutritional contribution but also from a sensory perspective

Formation and functional properties of protein–polysaccharide electrostatic hydrogels in comparison to protein or polysaccharide hydrogels

Protein and polysaccharide mixed systems have been actively studied for at least 50 years as they can be assembled into functional particles or gels. This article reviews the properties of electrostatic gels, a recently discovered particular case of associative protein–polysaccharide mixtures formed through associative electrostatic interaction under appropriate solution conditions (coupled gel). This review highlights the factors influencing gel formation such as protein–polysaccharide ratio, biopolymer structural characteristics, final pH, ionic strength and total solid concentration. For the first time, the functional properties of protein–polysaccharide coupled gels are presented and discussed in relationship to individual protein and polysaccharide hydrogels. One of their outstanding characteristics is their gel water retention. Up to 600 g of water per g of biopolymer may be retained in the electrostatic gel network compared to a protein gel (3–9 g of water per g of protein). Potential applications of the gels are proposed to enable the food and non-food industries to develop new functional products with desirable attributes or new interesting materials to incorporate bioactive molecules

Low-temperature blanching as a tool to modulate the structure of pectin in blueberry purees

Blueberry composition was characterized for 6 cultivars. It contains a good amount of dietary fiber (10% to 20%) and pectin (4% to 7%) whose degree of methylation (DM) is sensitive to food processing. A low temperature blanching (LTB: 60 °C/1 h) was applied on blueberry purees to decrease pectin DM, in order to modulate puree properties and functionalities (that is, viscosity and stability), and to enhance pectin affinity toward other components within food matrices. Fiber content, viscosity, pectin solubility, DM, and monosaccharide composition were determined for both pasteurized, and LTB+pasteurized blueberry purees. The results showed that neither the amount of fiber, nor the viscosity were affected by LTB, indicating that this treatment did not result in any significant pectin depolymerization and degradation. LTB caused a decrease both in pectin DM from 58–67% to 45–47% and in the amount of water-soluble pectin fraction, the latter remaining the major fraction of total pectin at 52% to 57%. A LTB is a simple and mild process to produce blueberry purees with mostly soluble and low-methylated pectin in order to extend functionality and opportunities for interactions with other food ingredients

Characterization of syneresis phenomena in stirred acid milk gel using low frequency nuclear magnetic resonance on hydrogen and image analyses

Water retention is an important quality attribute for yogurt. Classically, stirred yogurt water retention is investigated using induced syneresis measurement (centrifugation), which does not characterize spontaneous syneresis. Low-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-LF-NMR) is a non-destructive technique to detect spontaneous syneresis. Experimental yogurt from pasteurized skim milk, and commercial stirred yogurts were analyzed with 1H-LF-NMR. After Laplace's transformation of the signal, hydrogen atoms pools were differentiated according to their mobility. Each hydrogen pool stood for a type of water mobility in the matrices characterized by a relaxation time (T2(i)), and a signal intensity (I2(i)). Yogurt water retention was assessed by induced syneresis and their structure was characterized using microscopy. Low frequency 1H-NMR detected four different water mobility groups in the matrices. Among these, there was a signal from bulk water, and another attributed to the separated serum (spontaneous syneresis). In experimental yogurts, spontaneous syneresis was visible, resulting in induced syneresis higher than 50%. Moreover, induced syneresis and spontaneous syneresis detected by 1H-LF-NMR were similar. In commercial yogurts, bulk water mobility reduced with increasing protein content and protein network density. Induced syneresis and bulk-water mobility correlated only in yogurts without gelatin. In the presence of gelatin, the network was more open, probably favoring bulk water mobility. This study shows that 1H-LF-NMR associated with microscopy image analysis efficiently assesses and describes yogurts water retention and spontaneous syneresis

Identification of texture parameters influencing commercial cheese matrix disintegration and lipid digestion using an in vitro static digestion model

Cheese characteristics, such as composition or textural properties, can impact the matrix degradation rate which could modulate the bioaccessibility of fatty acids during digestion. The aim of this study was to identify texture parameters influencing cheese degradation in a gastrointestinal environment. A static in vitro digestion model has been used on nine commercial cheeses: young and aged cheddar, regular and light cream cheese, parmesan, feta, camembert, mozzarella, and sliced processed cheese. At the end of gastric digestion, camembert and mozzarella presented the lowest matrix disintegration whereas aged cheddar, regular and light cream cheeses showed the highest. For all cheeses, the fatty acid release was fast during the first 30 min of duodenal digestion and slowed down afterwards. A partial least square regression revealed that springiness, cohesiveness, and hardness were negatively correlated to the rate of cheese disintegration during gastric digestion. In addition, textural parameters were not correlated with free fatty acid release. By modulating cheese texture, it could be possible to influence matrix disintegration during gastrointestinal digestion which could have an impact on lipids release

IL23R (Interleukin 23 Receptor) variants protective against inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) display loss of functiondue to impaired protein stability and intracellular trafficking

Genome-wide association studies as well as murine models have shown that the interleukin 23 receptor (IL23R) pathway plays a pivotal role in chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn disease (CD), ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, and type 1 diabetes. Genome-wide association studies and targeted re-sequencing studies have revealed the presence of multiple potentially causal variants of the IL23R. Specifically the G149R, V362I, and R381Q IL23R chain variants are linked to protection against the development of Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis in humans. Moreover, the exact mechanism of action of these receptor variants has not been elucidated. We show that all three of these IL23R variants cause a reduction in IL23 receptor activation-mediated phosphorylation of the signaltransducing activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and phosphorylation of signal transducing activator of transcription 4 (STAT4). The reduction in signaling is due to lower levels of cell surface receptor expression. For G149R, the receptor retention in the endoplasmic reticulum is due to an impairment of receptor maturation, whereas the R381Q and V362I variants have reduced protein stability. Finally, we demonstrate that the endogenous expression of IL23R protein from V362I and R381Q variants in human lymphoblastoid cell lines exhibited lower expression levels relative to susceptibility alleles. Our results suggest a convergent cause of IL23R variant protection against chronic inflammatory disease

A transcriptome-based approach to identify functional modules within and across primary human immune cells

Genome-wide transcriptomic analyses have provided valuable insight into fundamental biology and disease pathophysiology. Many studies have taken advantage of the correlation in the expression patterns of the transcriptome to infer a potential biologic function of uncharacterized genes, and multiple groups have examined the relationship between co-expression, co-regulation, and gene function on a broader scale. Given the unique characteristics of immune cells circulating in the blood, we were interested in determining whether it was possible to identify functional co-expression modules in human immune cells. Specifically, we sequenced the transcriptome of nine immune cell types from peripheral blood cells of healthy donors and, using a combination of global and targeted analyses of genes within co-expression modules, we were able to determine functions for these modules that were cell lineagespecific or shared among multiple cell lineages. In addition, our analyses identified transcription factors likely important for immune cell lineage commitment and/or maintenance

Cytogénétique des carcinomes rénaux [Cytogenetics profiles of renal carcinoma]

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