Study of different technological strategies for sugar reduction in muffin addressed for children

Abstract To exceed in sugar consumption is one of the main causes of overweight and obesity, especially for children and adolescent. However, sugar reduction, especially in baked goods, is challenging due to its effect not only on sensorial properties but also for other quality parameters. Multiple technological strategies to obtain muffins at low sugar content addressed for children were studied. Specifically, the inhomogeneous spatial distribution of sucrose (1, 3 and 5 layers of food formula at different sugar content), the taste enhancement by vanillin addition (0, 1 and 2%) and the use of different particle size of sugar (200, 400 and 600 μm) were investigated through a Box-Behnken design. Physical attributes were negatively affected by spatial distribution due to the substantial role of sucrose in the expansion of muffins. Indeed, maximum height of homogeneous muffins was of 37.8 ± 3.9 mm, while in inhomogeneous samples reached values of ≈ 30 mm. The low expansion of inhomogeneous muffins was also attested by porosity fraction which notably decreased from 68.2% in 1-layer muffin to 58.4% and 65.6% in 3-layers and 5-layers muffins, respectively. The perception of sweetness was improved for the inhomogeneous muffins and with a mass fraction of added vanillin at 1% confirming its great potential as taste enhancer, especially when using particle size of sugar less than 400 μm. Based on sensorial and physical data, stratified muffins with 3 layers, a mass fraction of added vanillin at 1% and sugar particle size in the range between 200 and 600 μm, showed excellent results. The proposed strategy could be used to design and develop innovative muffins designed for children contributing in the reduction of sugar intake in the daily diet

Ripening Stage Effects on Mechanical and Functional Properties of Pastry Filled with Sweet Cherries (Prunus avium, ‘Ferrovia’ Cultivar)

Sweet cherry is a precious fruit for the wealth of minerals, vitamins and other important protecting, detoxifying and purifying principles. These features make it interesting in terms of nutritional and health point of view. Many studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects on prevention of cardiovascular and articular diseases, due to anti-inflammatory and analgesic action of sweet cherry. However, because of its seasonality, it needs technological treatments to be preserved (jam, puree or semi-finished products for pastry), that could compromise its nutritional quality. The aim of this work was to study the effects of ripening stage and technological tratments on mechanical and functional properties of pastries filled with sweet cherries during storage at room temperature. Results showed that the different ripeness of cherries influenced the mechanical properties of samples: pastries filled with overripe cherries resulted more hard (97 vs. 79 N), less cohesive (0.19 vs. 0.25) and springy (6.4 vs. 8.5 mm) than medium harvest cherries. The antioxidant capacity of medium harvest sweet cherries did not change after both technological treatments and storage (0.93 vs. 0.89 TEAC micromol/g dry basis). These results highlight the importance of ripening stage of processed fruit used as ingredient in complex food in order to obtain a product with good functional and quality properties

How Much Caffeine in Coffee Cup? Effects of Processing Operations, Extraction Methods and Variables

About 80–90% of the adults are regular consumers of coffee brews. Its consumption has positive effect on energy expenditure, power of muscle, while over consumption has negative effects widely debated. Across geographical areas, coffee brews may notably change when preparing Espresso, American, French, Turkish, etc. This chapter reviewed the phases able to affect the amount of caffeine in cup. Three most important areas will be addressed: (1) coffee varieties and environment; (2) coffee processing operations; (3) brewing methods extraction variables. What arises from the state of art is that, although there is a significant agreement on the effect of each critical variable on caffeine extraction, there is also a great difficulty to precisely know how much caffeine is in a coffee cup, although this is the most important information for the consumers. The number of affecting variables is very high, and some of them are inversely related with caffeine content (brewing time and brew volume), while others exhibit a direct relationship (grinding level, dose, and tamping). Finally, some variables under the control of barista rarely are accurately reproduced during brewing. For instance, it was found that the caffeine content in a Starbuck’s coffee cup during different days varied significantly

Could 3D food printing help to improve the food supply chain resilience against disruptions such as caused by pandemic crises

SummaryThe ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic is having a tremendous effect on the current food system. The situation urges us to face many issues never experienced before, aimed at mitigating a multitude of sanitary and social risks. The current pandemic has affected the food system in many ways: significant changes in dietary habits and in the health status of people; the food chain is broken, which has an effect on food security (including making it difficult to find or to buy fresh food at affordable prices); unemployment or underemployment is rising due to the damages of the food sector; there is a lack of food‐socialising events which has an effect on people's mental status; and there are concerns about food safety. To mitigate all these issues, the implementation of innovative technologies urges. We have mapped the scientific studies and online information on 3D food printing (3DFP) about the effects of 3DFP on the food system and people's health when adopted in food industry, restaurants, hospitals, schools, offices, homes, etc. Finally, this information has been examined in light to the future challenges of the food chain also considering the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic, demonstrating its potential benefits to mitigate this and future pandemics

Absence of Metabolic Cross-correction in Tay-Sachs Cells: IMPLICATIONS FOR GENE THERAPY

We have investigated the ability of a receptor-mediated gene transfer strategy (cross-correction) to restore ganglioside metabolism in fibroblasts from Tay-Sachs (TS) patients in vitro. TS disease is a GM2 gangliosidosis attributed to the deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme beta-hexosaminidase A (HexA) (beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase, EC ). The hypothesis is that transduced cells overexpressing and secreting large amounts of the enzyme would lead to a measurable activity in defective cells via a secretion-recapture mechanism. We transduced NIH3T3 murine fibroblasts with the LalphaHexTN retroviral vector carrying the cDNA encoding for the human Hex alpha-subunit. The Hex activity in the medium from transduced cells was approximately 10-fold higher (up to 75 milliunits) than observed in non-transduced cells. TS cells were cultured for 72 h in the presence of the cell medium derived from the transduced NIH3T3 cells, and they were analyzed for the presence and catalytic activity of the enzyme. Although TS cells were able to efficiently uptake a large amount of the soluble enzyme, the enzyme failed to reach the lysosomes in a sufficient quantity to hydrolyze the GM2 ganglioside to GM3 ganglioside. Thus, our results showed that delivery of the therapeutic HexA was not sufficient to correct the phenotype of TS cells

Involvement of Bradykinin Receptor 2 in Nerve Growth Factor Neuroprotective Activity

Neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF) has been demonstrated to upregulate the gene expression of bradykinin receptor 2 (B2R) on sensory neurons, thus facilitating nociceptive signals. The aim of the present study is to investigate the involvement of B2R in the NGF mechanism of action in nonsensory neurons in vitro by using rat mixed cortical primary cultures (CNs) and mouse hippocampal slices, and in vivo in Alzheimer's disease (AD) transgenic mice (5xFAD) chronically treated with NGF. A significant NGF-mediated upregulation of B2R was demonstrated by microarray, Western blot, and immunofluorescence analysis in CNs, indicating microglial cells as the target of this modulation. The B2R involvement in the NGF mechanism of action was also demonstrated by using a selective B2R antagonist which was able to reverse the neuroprotective effect of NGF in CNs, as revealed by viability assay, and the NGF-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal slices. To confirm in vitro observations, B2R upregulation was observed in 5xFAD mouse brain following chronic intranasal NGF treatment. This study demonstrates for the first time that B2R is a key element in the neuroprotective activity and synaptic plasticity mediated by NGF in brain cells

Interaction between heavy metals and chitin present in the seston of the Bahía Blanca estuary

Se midieron las concentraciones de metales pesados y quitina en el seston del Estuario de Bahía Blanca (EBB). Se determinó la concentración de carbono orgánico particulado (COP) y material particulado en suspensión (MPS). El Cd, Cu y Zn presentaron mayores concentraciones en la fracción mayor de seston (≥ 200 μm) y Pb, Mn, Ni, Cr y Fe en la fracción menor de éste (≤ 20 μm). La mayor concentración de quitina se detectó en la fracción ≤ 20 μm, junto con altos valores COP y MPS. Se detectaron diferencias entre las distintas fracciones en todos los metales pesados, COP y MPS, no así en la quitina. Correlaciones significativas se hallaron entre metales, COP y MPS, y este último con quitina. Entre los metales pesados y la quitina se halló una posible interacción, destacándose la quitina como posible agente de retención de metales pesados en el seston del EBB.Centro de Investigaciones Geológica

Interaction between heavy metals and chitin present in the seston of the Bahía Blanca estuary

Se midieron las concentraciones de metales pesados y quitina en el seston del Estuario de Bahía Blanca (EBB). Se determinó la concentración de carbono orgánico particulado (COP) y material particulado en suspensión (MPS). El Cd, Cu y Zn presentaron mayores concentraciones en la fracción mayor de seston (≥ 200 μm) y Pb, Mn, Ni, Cr y Fe en la fracción menor de éste (≤ 20 μm). La mayor concentración de quitina se detectó en la fracción ≤ 20 μm, junto con altos valores COP y MPS. Se detectaron diferencias entre las distintas fracciones en todos los metales pesados, COP y MPS, no así en la quitina. Correlaciones significativas se hallaron entre metales, COP y MPS, y este último con quitina. Entre los metales pesados y la quitina se halló una posible interacción, destacándose la quitina como posible agente de retención de metales pesados en el seston del EBB.Centro de Investigaciones Geológica

Interaction between heavy metals and chitin present in the seston of the Bahía Blanca estuary

Se midieron las concentraciones de metales pesados y quitina en el seston del Estuario de Bahía Blanca (EBB). Se determinó la concentración de carbono orgánico particulado (COP) y material particulado en suspensión (MPS). El Cd, Cu y Zn presentaron mayores concentraciones en la fracción mayor de seston (≥ 200 μm) y Pb, Mn, Ni, Cr y Fe en la fracción menor de éste (≤ 20 μm). La mayor concentración de quitina se detectó en la fracción ≤ 20 μm, junto con altos valores COP y MPS. Se detectaron diferencias entre las distintas fracciones en todos los metales pesados, COP y MPS, no así en la quitina. Correlaciones significativas se hallaron entre metales, COP y MPS, y este último con quitina. Entre los metales pesados y la quitina se halló una posible interacción, destacándose la quitina como posible agente de retención de metales pesados en el seston del EBB.Centro de Investigaciones Geológica

Involvement of substance P (SP) and its related NK1 receptor in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) pathogenesis

Primary Sjogren's Syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that primarily attacks the lacrimal and salivary glands, resulting in impaired secretory function characterized by xerostomia and xerophthalmia. Patients with pSS have been shown to have impaired salivary gland innervation and altered circulating levels of neuropeptides thought to be a cause of decreased salivation, including substance P (SP). Using Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence studies, we examined the expression levels of SP and its preferred G protein-coupled TK Receptor 1 (NK1R) and apoptosis markers in biopsies of the minor salivary gland (MSG) from pSS patients compared with patients with idiopathic sicca syndrome. We confirmed a quantitative decrease in the amount of SP in the MSG of pSS patients and demonstrated a significant increase in NK1R levels compared with sicca subjects, indicating the involvement of SP fibers and NK1R in the impaired salivary secretion observed in pSS patients. Moreover, the increase in apoptosis (PARP-1 cleavage) in pSS patients was shown to be related to JNK phosphorylation. Since there is no satisfactory therapy for the treatment of secretory hypofunction in pSS patients, the SP pathway may be a new potential diagnostic tool or therapeutic target