A new functional kefir fermented beverage obtained from fruit and vegetable juice: Development and characterization

A juice containing a mixture of fruits and vegetables (70% apple, 9% strawberry, 12% carrot and beet 9%) was evaluated as a potential substrate for the production of a novel probiotic beverage made with kefir grains. The effects of the kefir grains amount (1–4%, w/v) and fermentation time (12, 24 and 48 h) on the beverage composition, sensory qualities and colour were investigated. The results indicated that the amount of kefir grains have a significant effect on the content of the organic acids (lactic, acetic, citric, succinic, and malic acid), CO2 production, acidity, and viscosity and colour parameters (lightness (L*), hue (hab) and Chroma (C*ab)). Fermentation time also significantly affected all the parameters analyzed in the samples. The most suitable conditions to achieve the highest overall acceptability for the fermented beverage based on a mix of fruits and vegetable juice was: 2% (w/v) kefir inoculum during 24 h of fermentation time

Importancia nutricional de los pigmentos carotenoides

Los pigmentos carotenoides son compuestos responsables de la coloración de gran número de alimentos vegetales y animales, como zanahorias, zumo de naranja, tomates, salmón y yema del huevo. Desde hace muchos años, se sabe que algunos de estos compuestos, como a y b-caroteno, así como la b-criptoxantina, son provitaminas A. No obstante, estudios recientes han puesto de manifiesto las propiedades antioxidantes de estos pigmentos, así como su eficacia en la prevención de ciertas enfermedades del ser humano, como la aterosclerosis o incluso el cáncer. Todo ello ha hecho que desde un punto de vista nutricional, el interés por estos pigmentos se haya incrementado notoriamente.Carotenoids are responsible for the colour of a great number of both vegetable and animal foods, such as carrots, orange juice, tomato, salmon and egg yolk. It has been known for many years that some of these compounds, such as a and b -carotene, as well as b -cryptoxanthin, are provitamins A. However, recent studies have shown the antioxidant properties of these compounds and their efficiency in the prevention of certain human diseases, such as atherosclerosis or cancer. Because of all this, the interest in these compounds has increased substantially from a nutritional point of view

Estabilidad de los pigmentos carotenoides en los alimentos

Los pigmentos carotenoides son compuestos responsables de la coloración de gran número de alimentos vegetales y animales. Numerosos estudios publicados recientemente han demostrado el efecto beneficioso de estos compuestos en la salud humana, por lo que, desde un punto de vista nutricional, resulta de gran importancia conocer qué factores intervienen en la degradación de los carotenoides, ya que su pérdida, además de producir cambios de color en el alimento, conlleva una disminución de su valor nutritivo. La inestabilidad de los carotenoides se debe al hecho de que son compuestos altamente insaturados, degradándose fundamentalmente debido a procesos oxidativos. Otros factores como la temperatura, la luz o el pH también pueden producir importantes cambios cualitativos en estos compuestos debido a reacciones de isomerización.Carotenoids are responsible for the colour of a wide variety of both vegetable and animal foods. Several studies published recently have shown that these compounds have a beneficial effect in human health, thus, from a nutritional point of view, it is important to know the factors related to their degradation, because carotenoid losses, not only produce changes in food colour, but also decrease their nutritional value. The instability of carotenoids is due to the fact that they are highly unsaturated compounds, thus degradation is due mainly to oxidation. Other factors, such as temperature, light or pH can produce important qualitative changes in these compounds by means of isomerization reactions

Internal preference mapping of milk–fruit beverages: Influence of color and appearance on its acceptability

The individual preferences of 100 consumers between 20 and 30 years old for the color of 16 milk–fruit juice beverages (MFJB) were investigated by preference mapping technique. Consumers were asked to evaluate, just by looking at the samples, how much they liked them (from “Extremely dislike” to “Extremely like”). The color of the samples was analyzed by two different instrumental techniques. Results obtained from the instrumental color measurement showed the wide diversity in hues of the beverages available in the market, and correlations between techniques proved that both of them were appropriate to analyze color. Results showed that participants preferred samples with orangish appearance instead of those with a whiter look. Anyway, punctuations given by the consumers suggest that generally, color of these products is not highly evaluated by consumers, as the best mean punctuation was 6.6.Consejería de Innovación Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía P11-AGR-778

Carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins in horse tissues: a comparison with cattle

Carotenoids are important for human health because of their provitamin A function among other biological actions. Their implication on consumer point of view of cattle products have been widely studied, but very little information is available for horse products. The aim of this study was to study the accumulation of carotenoids, retinoids and tocopherol by HPLC and HPLC- MS analysis in different horse tissues (plasma, milk, adipose tissue and liver) and compare it with that of cattle. Fat color was also studied. Four groups of animals were studied (15 animals within each group): lactating mares (709.82 ± 23.09 kg) and cows (576.93 ± 31.94 kg) reared outdoors; and foals (556.8 ± 25.9 kg, 14 months old) and calves (474.7 ± 36.2 kg, 14 months old) reared indoors. Both mares and foals were from the Hispano–Breton breed, whereas both cows and calves belonged to the commercial crossbred Limousine–Retinta. Differences in plasma and milk carotenoids (P 0.05). Both species showed different levels of accumulation of retinoids in the liver, with the foal having better accumulation (P < 0.01, P < 0.001). These results indicate that there are species-specific differences in the accumulation of carotenoids, retinol and tocopherol, but further studies are required to establish the mechanism of these difference

Optimization of olive-fruit paste production using a methodological proposal based on a sensory and objective color analysis

Este trabajo presenta la optimización de las condiciones de formulación de una pasta de aceitunas. La elaboración comprendió diferentes fases: lavado, mezcla, adición de aceite y conservación. Un panel entrenado y un panel de consumidores realizaron pruebas de comparación por pareja y test de ordenación para seleccionar la muestra preferida en cada fase. Los atributos sensoriales considerados fueron sabor, textura visual, textura en boca y preferencia total. Los resultados del análisis sensorial se procesaron estadísticamente mediante ANOVA y el test de Friedman para seleccionar las condiciones óptimas de elaboración: lavado 3 veces durante 30 minutos, mezclado a 2000 r.p.m y adición de 10 mL de aceite de cobertura. Se ensayaron diferentes condiciones de pasteurización (62.5, 75, 85 y 95 °C durante 15 minutes). No se encontraron diferencias significativas (p 0.05) de color (CIELAB) entre las pastas sometidas a diferentes condiciones de conservación. En base a los resultados del test de preferencia, las condiciones seleccionadas fueron: calentar a 85 °C durante 15 minutos.This paper deals with the optimization of the conditions to formulate paste based on olive fruits. The processing stages included: washing, blending, oil addition and preservation. Pair-comparisons and ranking tests were carried out by both a trained panel and a consumer panel to single out the preferred sample at each stage. The sensory attributes considered were taste, visual texture, texture in the mouth and overall preference. The results of the sensory analyses were processed statistically by means of ANOVA and the Friedman test to select the most appropriate processing conditions: washing for 30 minutes three times, blending at 2000 r.p.m, and the addition of 10 mL of oil. Several pasteurization conditions were assayed (62.5, 75, 85 and 95 °C for 15 minutes). No significant color differences (p 0.05) were found for the objective color measurement (CIELAB) of the pastes submitted to the different pasteurization conditions. Based on the results of the preference test, the pasteurization conditions selected were heating at 85 °C for 15 minutes