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Upon extracting soluble proteins from insects as potential food ingredient, endogenous enzymes, such as phenoloxidases, are expected to negatively affect protein properties. The effect of phenoloxidases on solubility and digestibility of proteins was investigated for larvae of Tenebrio molitor, Alphitobius diaperinus and Hermetia illucens. Phenoloxidase inhibition was done using blanching (50 s, 90 °C) before extraction or extracting in presence of sulfite. Similar soluble protein yields and compositions were found without and with sulfite addition, whereas blanching decreased soluble protein yield. Upon in-vitro hydrolysis by pepsin and trypsin, soluble proteins from H. illucens were more digestible than those of T. molitor and A. diaperinus. Phenoloxidase activity during grinding negatively affected in-vitro pepsin hydrolysis. Besides phenoloxidase activity, also endogenous proteases were shown to remain active at pH 8 in extracts containing sulfite and after blanching of larvae. This stresses that protease activity needs to be carefully controlled in the design of insect based ingredients.

This study aimed to develop a mitigation strategy for the formation of 2-monochloropropane-1,3-diol esters (2-MCPDE), 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (3-MCPDE), and glycidol fatty acid esters (GE) during palm oil refining. Single physical refining was the starting point (the control) for this study. Experimental treatments including a double refining repeating the entire single refining process (T1), double refining with a high-low deodorization temperature (T2), and double deodorization (T3) with similar temperature settings as T2 were performed. Compared with the control experiment, T2 successfully reduced the formation of GE by 87%; in particular, the second degumming and bleaching were crucial for eliminating GE. Both 2- and 3-MCPDE were formed prior to the deodorization process in all treatments. MCPDE concentrations remained stable throughout the refining process and, hence, they require a different mitigation approach as compared to GE. These results provide useful insights which can directly be implemented by the oil industry.

Manufacturing shelf-stable Ultra-high temperature hydrolyzed-lactose milk (UHLM) is a challenge for dairy producers, as the product undergoes chemical changes during storage due to both reducing sugars reactivity and proteolysis arising from the impurity of the lactase preparations. In the present study, the “in batch” production system, which includes the addition of the lactase before the thermal treatment, was demonstrated a valuable alternative to the more popular “in pack” system, where lactase is added directly into each milk package after thermal sterilization. The features of the technology were investigated by monitoring the changes in free amino acids, volatile organic compounds, color and sensory properties of UHLMs produced with three different lactase preparations (LPs), up to 120 days at 20 °C. Upon UHT processing, the proteolytic side activity of lactases was minimized, so minimum breakdown of milk protein was achieved. The release of free amino acids was dependent on the lactase purity only in the early production phases, whereas it did not change over time. The Strecker aldehydes benzaldehyde and 2-methylbutanal resulted as effective markers to correlate with the initial lactase purity during storage. Color and sensory slightly changed during storage but were poorly correlated with the different lactases, resembling to phenomena typical of milk aging. This latter result suggested that production costs might be lowered by opting for less-purified lactases when considering the “in batch” technology, supporting the application of this production system for the design of UHLM with high-quality standards and low risk of alterations during shelf-life.

Previous studies showed that in vitro digestibility of proteins in cooked beans is modulated by heat treatment and that the effect may be different whether proteins are heated in intact cotyledon or in a bean flour. In this study, germinated and non-germinated soybean cotyledons and flour were boiled at 100 °C for varying times (30, 90, or 180 min). After grinding, the level of trypsin inhibitors, protein aggregation, surface hydrophobicity, the secondary structure, and in vitro digestibility were studied. The presence of an intact cell wall during cooking increased protein denaturation temperature by about 10% and reduced the denaturation of trypsin inhibitors, and induced distinct changes in protein surface hydrophobicity and secondary structure. These physicochemical properties translated into an increment in protein degree of hydrolysis (DH, 72%) of protein cooked for 30 min as flour compared to proteins cooked in intact soybean tissues (64%). Increase in cooking times (90 and 180 min) resulted in limited improvement in the protein digestibility and changes in protein physicochemical properties for both boiled cotyledons and flour. Soybean germination resulted in distinct changes in protein physicochemical properties and higher protein DH% of raw soybean (61%) compared to non-germinated raw soybean (36%). An increase in protein digestibility of germinated soybean was also observed after boiling for both cotyledon and flour. However, significant differences in DH% were not observed between proteins boiled in intact cotyledon and in a flour. This work provides extra knowledge of the role of cellular integrity on protein properties in plant foods and suggests that germination or grinding before cooking may increase protein digestibility.

Lactose intolerance syndrome can be efficiently tackled consuming low lactose products. Lactase is the key tool to manufacture low lactose milk (LLM): its addition during milk processing can be done “in batch”, i.e. before thermal treatment, or directly “in pack” after sterilization. In this paper data on sensory properties, Maillard Reaction products (MRPs) and free amino acids formation were obtained on six commercial Italian LLMs over six months storage. They showed that the side proteolytic activity of lactase caused the release of amino acids with a significant higher MRPs and off-flavors formation in four out of five samples produced by adding the enzyme in the pack after thermal treatment. We concluded that the in pack addition of lactase after milk sterilization can have negative sensorial and nutritional consequences mainly related to the enzyme side proteolytic activity especially for prolonged storage time.

Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are the main determinants of radicchio bitterness and the control of their concentrations is a key point for the market value of this product. An innovative analytical approach based on two complementary mass spectrometers, Orbitrap-HRMS and MS/MS, was used for quantitative analysis of SLs in aerial part of four different varieties of chicory. Data highlighted the presence of eight SLs: 11β,13-dihydrolactucin, lactucin, 8-deoxy-lactucin, dihydro-8-deoxylactucin, dihydrolactucopicrin, lactucopicrin, lactuside C (jaquinellin glucoside) and dihydro-lactucopicrin oxalate. Significant varietal differences were found. The highest amount of SLs was found in the radicchio “Treviso Precoce” variety (189.71 μg/g), the lowest amount in “Treviso Tardivo” variety (45.78 μg/g). Lactucopicrin was the most abundant compound with concentration ranged between 99.36 in “Treviso Precoce” and 13.50 μg/g in “Treviso Tardivo” while dihydro-lactucopicrin oxalate was the less abundant in all analyzed varieties with an average concentration of about 1% on the total amount of SLs.

Mounting evidence shows that hedonic eating, leading to overeating just for pleasure, can be driven by oro-sensory factors through the activation of reward processing and learning in the brain. Foods rich in sugars and fats are potent rewards and saliva composition influences oral taste, texture and aroma perception. A role for salivary α-amylase and lipase in the gustatory system and a link between salivary α-amylase activity and dietary habits were recently hypothesized. The objective of this study was to verify the relationship among salivary lipase and α-amylase activities as well as zinc concentration with food preference and choice of people with different body mass indices. Forty-two (23 normal weight and 19 overweight) healthy subjects participated in the study. Data showed that α-amylase and lipase were 1.8 and 2.4 folds higher in overweight than in normal weight subjects, respectively. On the other hand, overweight subjects showed a 33% reduced salivary zinc concentration compared to normal weight subjects. Only lipase activity positively correlated with individual preference for high-fat foods and with fat content of the diets. All in all data suggested that high salivary lipase activity in overweight subjects could be an adaptive response to the low fat-taste perception related to the reduced zinc concentration. It cannot be ruled out that other factors but diet might influence salivary α-amylase activity in overweight subjects.

Milling of wheat generates by-products, which can be used to improve the technological performance and/or to integrate foods with healthy compounds. The aim of this paper was to select fractions of durum wheat bran having different functional and nutritional characteristics. Wheat bran by-products were obtained by an industrial milling process. Beside the single fractions, two commercial products Bran & Brain 50 and 70, obtained by blending some of the durum wheat fractions were also studied. All samples were investigated for water holding capacity, soluble and insoluble dietary fibre content and for their antioxidant activity. The soluble fibre content of the durum wheat by-product ranged between 0.9% and 4.1%; while that of insoluble fibre between 21% and 64%. B&B 70 has a TDF content of 61%, while B&B 50 has 42%. The water holding capacity of each fraction is strictly related to the amount of insoluble fibre and to the granulometry of the by-products. Cooking-extrusion process does not affect the amount of soluble fibre; by contrast, a significant increase of the insoluble fibre was detected. The antioxidant activity is higher for the internal bran fraction and it increases in fractions having reduced granulometry. The antioxidant activity of some durum wheat by-product fractions is comparable to that of widespread fruits and fresh vegetables, likely due to the presence of fibre-bound phenol compounds. The high fibre content and antioxidant activity of durum wheat bran by-products can be of particular interest for their use in cereal-based products.