Inhibitory effect of enzymatic browning products on trypsin activity

The aim of this piece of work was to assay if the melanins synthesized from  Agaricus bisporus polyphenol oxidase and one of its main substrates (L-tyrosine) act as trypsininhibitors, and therefore may have a toxic effect on protein digestion. It was found that these polymers decrease apparent affinity between trypsin and its substrate (N a-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester, BAEE). In addition, the maximum reaction rate ( rmax) decreases with the increase of melanin concentration (up to 32.6% adding 0.07 mg·mL ‑1).It can be concluded that the presence of melanins fromL‑tyrosine inhibits trypsin activity in a mixed way. Alpha (a)constant was found to be 2.95

Innovacions en l'enginyeria d'aliments : tecnologies emergents

Els tractaments que reben els aliments s?enfoquen principalment a obtenir uns productes amb una major vida comercial, però que abans de res siguin segurs per al consumidor. Les tecnologies tèrmiques són les que més àmpliament s?han aplicat per aconseguir aquestes finalitats; no obstant això, aquest tipus de tractaments incideix negativament sobre certs components del mateix aliment, disminuint el seu contingut en vitamines i altres nutrients, així com en característiques sensorials, que el fan menys atractiu quant al color i a les propietats texturals. Les tecnologies no tèrmiques són una alternativa als tractaments tèrmics, amb la finalitat d?obtenir un producte final de millor qualitat sensorial, però sense deixar de banda la seguretat. Aquestes tecnologies alternatives a la tèrmica poden produir aliments sense la presència de microorganismes perillosos, mantenint al mateix temps les característiques sensorials i nutritives.Food processing technologies generally serve to extend a product?s shelf-life and, above all, to make a product safe for consumption. Thermal technologies are the most commonly used, but this type of treatment can have a negative impact on certain food components, diminishing vitamin and nutrient content. They can also affect sensorial characteristics (colour, texture, etc.), making themless attractive. Non-thermal technologies are an alternative to thermal treatments, developed with the purpose of obtaining a final product of better sensorial quality without neglecting microbial safety. These alternative technologies can produce foods without dangerous microorganisms whilst maintaining sensorial and nutritional qualities

An overview of bioplastic research on its relation to national policies

There is an increasing concern about fossil energy and products derived from it. The plastic industry depends on oil, and produced plastics cannot degrade naturally. An alternative to plastics from oil is the use of bioplastics, which can be degradable. The bibliometric study of the publications related to bioplastics carried out in this paper shows that research on this topic is growing both in developed (USA, European Union, and Canada) and in developing countries (China, India, Thailand, and Malaysia), mostly following the implementation of bioeconomy standards and labels by their governments. The main authors and the collaborations they have worldwide are also presented here. The research carried out in this paper is not only devoted to technological aspects but also to economic aspects and inhabitant ratios. Trends in publications, by country and authors, are analyzed. Finally, this paper also studies the countries governmental policies and how they impact the bioplastic field.The authors at the University of Lleida would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group GREiA (2017 SGR 1537). GREiA is a certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia

Potential Use of Cow Manure for Poly (Lactic Acid) Production

Cow manure is an abundant residue and poses a problem regarding recycling. Intensive animal farming produces manure, which, if not properly managed, can contaminate nearby water bodies and soils with nutrient excess. There are 1.9 billion cattle worldwide, with a calculated capacity to produce 7.6 billion tons per year. Feeding of these cows is carried out mainly with cellulosic material. Therefore, cow manure contains an important fraction of lignocellulose. Cow manure can be valorized using such lignocellulosic fractions as the raw material of several fermentative processes. This fraction can be transformed into sugar, which can, in turn, be used to feed lactic acid bacteria (LAB). LAB produces lactic acid (LA), which can later be polymerized to poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a bioplastic with promising market forecasts. This review describes the most updated processes for all of the necessary steps to produce lactic acid from lignocellulosic biomass with LAB. Key process parameters to obtain PLA from lignocellulose are reviewed and analyzed herein, including lignocellulosic fraction extraction, sugar transformation, pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, purification, and polymerization. This review highlights the potentiality to obtain lignocellulose from cow manure, as well as its use to obtain PLA.This work has received financial support from the Doctorat Industrial grant (2021 DI 22) from the AGAUR through the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya. This work is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme