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

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

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

The color of olive oils: The pigments and their likely health benefits and visual and instrumental methods of analysis

The color of olive oils, and of foods in general, can influence consumer choices to a large extent and can be related to the processing treatments they have undergone. Olive oil color is due to 2 types of pigments, chlorophylls and carotenoids, which are attracting the attention of the scientific community due to the probable health benefits they can provide. Appropriate methodologies for the meaningful definition of the color of olive oil are there-fore necessary for various reasons. In this review, we discuss the importance of olive oil color and the applicable legislation and regulation, including sections devoted to the pigments accounting for the growing importance as likely health-promoting substances. Furthermore, we review in depth the different approaches (visual and instrumental methods) used for color measurements in the last 50 y. Instrumental methods have been shown to be highly appropriate for objective assessments and also for the rapid determination of the pigments

Preliminary Data on the Safety of Phytoene- and Phytofluene-Rich Products for Human Use including Topical Application

The colorless carotenoids phytoene and phytofluene are comparatively understudied compounds found in common foods (e.g., tomatoes) and in human plasma, internal tissues, and skin. Being naturally present in common foods, their intake at dietary levels is not expected to present a safety concern. However, since the interest in these compounds in the context of many applications is expanding, it is important to conduct studies aimed at assessing their safety. We present here results of in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity studies, revealing no significant cytotoxic or genotoxic potential and of short- and long-term human in vivo skin compatibility studies with phytoene- and phytofluene-rich tomato and Dunaliella salina alga extracts, showing a lack of irritancy or sensitization reactions. These results support the safe use of phytoene- and phytofluene-rich products in human topical applications.European Community 61351

In vitro antioxidant capacity of tomato products: Relationships with their lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene and alpha-tocopherol contents, evaluation of interactions and correlation with reflectance measurements

Tomato products were analysed for their carotenoids and a-tocopherol contents to study the contribution of individual compounds to the antioxidant capacity and assess the existence of interactions. Besides, the applicability of reflectance measurements for the estimation of the Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) was explored. Statistically significant regression coefficients were found between TEAC values and carotenoids and a-tocopherol levels. Lycopene seemed to have the highest contribution, followed by phytofluene. The results showed that the antioxidant capacity of phytofluene warrants further investigation. It was observed that there can be interactions between lycopene and atocopherol, although just the lycopene/a-tocopherol ratio cannot be used to predict the kind of interaction. More knowledge of these interactions would supply new tools for the industry to develop more optimized ingredients. Finally, the lycopene levels and TEAC values can be estimated by considering reflectance readings at certain wavelengths, which is important for field and quality control application

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