Health-Promoting Compounds in Pigmented Thai and Wild Rice

Organic pigmented Thai rice and wild rice are commonly available in specialized Italian markets and food shops, and they are gaining popularity among consumers demanding healthy foods. Indeed, the typical colour of kernels, which is the unique characteristic of pigmented cereals, is due to the accumulation of pigments that are also responsible for a number of healthy effects. The aim of this study was to provide a portrait of two organic pigmented Thai rice varieties from Thailand and one wild rice variety from Canada, imported into Italy and at Italian consumers’ disposal. To this end, the proximate composition and the content of health-promoting compounds, such as carotenoids, anthocyanins and phenolic compounds, were determined in Thai and wild rice. Moreover, the effect of cooking on phytochemicals was assessed, in order to provide reliable data on the dietary intake of bioactive compounds by samples under investigation. Results show that studied samples have a content of phytochemicals higher than white rice and comparable to other cereals. The cooking process determined a decrease of bioactive compounds in all varieties under investigation. However, some samples were found more resistant to cooking stress, and some phytochemicals were little affected by this process. Therefore, pigmented Thai and wild rice may represent a valuable source of healthy compounds and an alternative to other wholesome foods required by consumers

The physico-chemical properties of cassava starch in relation to the texture of the cooked root

(Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science, 1995-96, 28-29: 69-80

Nutritional and Physicochemical Characterisation of Italian Rice Flours and Starches

Six Japonica and three Indica rice samples were considered in this study. Total amino acid composition and protein digestibility were studied in relation to protein component while, amylose content, resistant and damaged starch were considered to assess starch characteristics. Results showed a comparable amino acid pattern and carbohydrate but different protein and starch digestibility. Due to the different botanical origin of samples, the amylose content raged between 15.5 and 25.2 g/100 g d. b. to whom corresponded a wide range of pasting temperatures determined by means of Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Principal Component Analysis, used to perform an exploratory data analysis, evidenced the contribution of some amino acids in recognising samples and this evidence could be usefully employed in breeding programs

Mechanisms of browning development in aggregates of marine organic matter formed under anoxic conditions: A study by mid-infrared and near-infrared spectroscopy

In this paper we analyze some chemical aspects concerning the browning development associated to the aggregation of marine organic matter (MOM) occurring in anoxic conditions. Organic matter samples obtained by the degradation of different algal samples were daily taken to follow the evolution of the aggregation process and the associated browning process. These samples were examined by Fourier transform mid infrared (FTIR) and Fourier transform near infrared (FTNIR) spectroscopy and the colour changes occurring during the above mentioned aggregation process were measured by means of Colour Indices (Cis). Spectral Cross Correlation Analysis (SCCA) was applied to correlate changes in CI values to the structural changes of MOM observed by FTIR and FTNIR spectra which were also submitted to Two-Dimensional Hetero Correlation Analysis (2HDCORR). SCCA results showed that all biomolecules present in MOM aggregates such as carbohydrates, proteins and lipids are involved in the browning development. In particular, SCCA results of algal mixtures suggest that the observed yellow-brown colour can be linked to the development of non enzymatic (i.e. Maillard) browning reactions. SCCA results for MOM furthermore suggest that aggregates coming from brown algae also showed evidence of browning related to enzymatic reactions. In the end 2HDCORR results indicate that hydrogen bond interactions among different molecules of MOM can play a significant role in the browning development. In this study the combination of spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR and FTNIR with Colour Indices measurements shows a peculiar ability to improve the knowledge of the complex mechanisms related to the aggregation of marine organic matter and its colour development under anoxic conditions such like those present in the marine environments at high depth. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Evaluation of Antioxidant Properties in Cereals: Study of Some Traditional Italian Wheats

Whole grain cereals contain a wide range of phytochemicals and it is often difficult to ascribe protective effects on metabolic health to any one particular constituent. The interactions among bioactive components, which contribute highly to the total antioxidant capacity of cereals, represent the first step in the evaluation of food potential health benefits. This research focused on the determination of antioxidant properties in grains and whole flours of some traditional Italian wheats. Results showed that hydrolysable polyphenols in grains are 85% of total polyphenols and contribute 95% of the total antioxidant properties, which indicates that hydrolysable polyphenols represent an important fraction of polyphenols in cereals. The distinction between extractable and non-extractable antioxidants was shown to be of paramount importance for an adequate determination of antioxidant capacity in cereals and represents a key element in the definition of potential nutritional value of the food matrix under consideration

Classification of 6 durum wheat cultivars from Sicily (Italy) using artificial neural networks

The possibility of using two different artificial neural networks architectures (multi-layer feed-forward, MLF-NN, and counterpropagation, CPNN) for the classification of 255 durum wheat samples from Sicily (Italy) was investigated and the performances of the optimal models were compared both among each others and to those resulting from the application of traditional chemometric pattern recognition techniques. When considering predictive ability over an independent test set, counterpropagation NN performed best, being able to correctly predict about 82% of the external validation samples (the corresponding predictive ability for MLF-NN, LDA and QDA was 72.0%, 50.9% and 52.7%, respectively. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Monitoring of marine mucilage formation in Italian seas investigated by infrared spectroscopy and independent component analysis

The aim of this study is to present and to discuss some characteristics of recalcitrant organic matter mechanism and formation. These aggregates called mucilages that are produced by the degradation reactions of several algae, have been investigated by infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. FTIR spectra of macroaggregates produced by different algal samples have been daily collected in order to investigate the steps of aggregation. Afterwards, they have been elaborated by means of Independent Component Analysis (ICA). ICA investigation of FTIR spectra showed that the global aggregation process of marine mucilage always consisted of two different phases or independent components (ICs). One IC is related to the first degradation step of algal cells leading to the production of mono and oligosaccharides with aminoacids and oligopeptides. The second IC is related to the polymerization of oligosaccharides with aminoacids and oligopeptides and to their interaction with less polar compounds such as lipids thus producing supramolecular structures. The emerging mechanisms of anomalous size aggregates of organic matter match those of natural organic matter aggregation. The approach we suggest is to use synthetic mucilages which allows to monitor the macroaggregates formation because it can hardly be performed by means of natural marine macroaggregates

Carboidrati e fibra alimentare

Con la IV Revisione dei Livelli di Assunzione di Riferimento di Nutrienti ed energia per la popolazione italiana (LARN) la Società Italiana di Nutrizione Umana (SINU) offre un documento nutrizionale di riferimento che è utilizzabile, in primo luogo, per la ricerca e pianificazione nutrizionale (nel singolo individuo, in gruppi di individui o in segmenti di popolazione), per la definizione di politiche sanitarie e commerciali, per la formulazione di indicazioni salutistiche ed etichettatura nutrizionale, e per lo sviluppo di nuovi alimenti e integratori alimentari.La parte introduttiva richiama modalità e criteri utilizzati per l’organizzazione del documento e la formulazione dei valori di riferimento per la dieta; espone inoltre i principi applicativi dei LARN per la valutazione dell’adeguatezza della dieta e per la program¬ma¬zione dietetica.Successivamente, sono proposti i capitoli relativi a Energia e Macronutrienti, Vitamine idrosolubili, Vitamine liposolubili, Minerali macro e Minerali micro, seguiti da quelli su Acqua, Etanolo e Composti Bioattivi