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The capacity of skimmed milk to neutralise increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and to attenuate nitric oxide (NO) production, as well as to present cytoprotective effect at the intestinal level was assessed after in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion. The impact on ROS modulation was evaluated at a non-cytotoxic concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in a co-culture of Caco-2 and HT-29 intestinal cells. In parallel, a cytotoxic concentration of H2O2 was used to study the effect of digested milk against induced cell apoptosis. Concerning induced NO production, it was evaluated using the model lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Results showed that digested milk prevented the increase of basal ROS level in the intestinal epithelium and attenuated NO production by LPS-stimulated macrophage cells. In the H2O2-induced cytotoxicity assay, digested milk had no protection against apoptosis, confirmed by the failure in attenuating activated caspase-3/7.

Excessive angiogenesis favours cancer development, allowing cancer invasion. Polyphenols are promising chemopreventive agents, although data gather so far in respect of anthocyanins, namely cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and delphinidin-3-O-glucoside (DG) and respective aglycones are scarce. The capability of these compounds to prevent tumour progression by inhibiting angiogenesis/cell migration/proliferation was studied in: (i) chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay; (ii) MDA-MB-231/MCF-12A cells to study proliferation and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) expression and cytoskeleton dynamics; (iii) in vitro assay to evaluate gastrointestinal digestion. The studied compounds promoted alterations on actin re/disassembly to form protrusions/stress fibres, evidencing capability to disrupt actin cytoskeleton dynamics and inhibiting angiogenesis, at least in part, by VEGFR-2 downregulation, with DG presenting the higher effect. Anthocyanin evidenced selectivity towards cancer cells by eliciting cytotoxicity on MDA-MB-231 cells and having a slight effect on healthy cells. Thus, DG evidenced the most promising profile as dietary supplement to achieve the biological desired effects.

Environmental health is increasingly compromised by persistent toxic substances, which may have serious implications in food safety and, thus, in human health. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are anthropogenic contaminants with endocrine disruption abilities and are commonly found in seafood, the main route of human exposure. Growing evidence points out that the human gut microbiota interacts with xenobiotics, which may lead to impairment of host homeostasis if functions of microbiota become compromised. The aim of this study was to ascertain if the physiological balance of human gut microbiome is affected by the presence and degree of exposure to PBDEs. Fermentation was performed in a batch closed-system using an inoculum made from fresh human stool. The volatolomic profile was analysed by solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Mesophilic, Gram-negative bacteria and coliforms were quantified by classic plating methods. Changes in the gut microbiome were evaluated after DNA extraction followed by deep sequencing of the 16S rDNA region. The exposure to PBDEs resulted in an imbalance in sulfur, short-chain fatty acids and aromatic organic compounds, changing the microbial volatolome in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Slight deviations in the microbial structure of human gut occurred in the presence of PBDEs, especially for high doses of exposure. For the first time, the impact of PBDEs on the microbial homeostasis of human gut microbiota was taken into consideration, revealing noteworthy modifications with serious health implications even at oral exposure doses considered as safe by worldwide regulatory entities. The research leading to these results received financial support from FEDER (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização - COMPETE 2020), from PIDDAC through FCT/MCTES project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028708 and from UID/QUI/50006/2019 with funding from FCT/MCTES. Rebeca Cruz thanks to FCT for the PhD grant SFRH/BD/101945/2014. António Marques thanks to FCT IF program. Miguel Faria acknowledges FCT the researcher contract. Sara C. Cunha also acknowledges FCT for the IF/01616/2015 contract.

Limited information exists on the bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake of essential minerals from different types of beans cooked through different cooking methods. This study aimed to estimate the in vitro bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake of the essential minerals K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu and Mo from four different types of beans (kidney, black, white and cowpea) cooked under different conditions (home-cooked and industrially processed canned product). Results showed that the bioaccessibility and uptake of most essential minerals is higher in canned beans. Mn was the mineral that presented the highest bioaccessibility (43–63%), and Mo had the lowest (3–36%). The highest uptake was observed for Mg (59.9%), while the lowest was found for Fe (10.5%). Regarding the type of beans, white beans presented the highest bioaccessibility and uptake for all the analyzed essential minerals and thus its consumption is preferable from a nutritional point of view., Edgar Pinto and César Oliveira acknowledge Instituto de Ciências e Tecnologias Agrárias e Agro-Alimentares da Universidade do Porto (ICETA) for their contracts NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-0001 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000011, respectively. This work received financial support from the European Union (POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265), from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE – Operational Competitiveness Programme and from national funds provided by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UID/QUI/50006/2013.

Hop cones ( Humulus lupulus L.) or hops are essential beer ingredients that impart bitterness and pungent aroma. Moreover, it also contributes to beer preservation. More recently, hops usage is experiencing a new change driven by the internationally growing preference for more intensely flavored beers, sustained by the craft brew sector. This movement has led to the introduction of much higher amount of hops in different phases of beer production and to the ever-increasing search for new flavors. Some hop varieties have thus received special attention, including a few old typical hops largely used until present date, although intensive search for new varieties dubbed “Green Gold” has also occurred. A large number of new exquisite varieties have been described and increasingly valued in the market. The global area of hop cultivation has increased in the last 5 years although the total world beer production decreased during the same period, which corroborates the trend of using more hops per liter of beer. In addition, a wide range of pharmacological properties has been described for hop and hop derivatives, namely, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer-related properties, which are of major relevance to the pharmaceutical industry. Beer bioactivity can be influenced by hops usage, which can configure an important tool for brewers aiming the development of functional products. The aim of the present chapter is therefore to describe the importance of hops in this new trend of beer production, reviewing hops market, varieties, forms and methods of utilization, composition, importance in the beer bioactivity, and new discoveries in hops research.

The practice of dry-hopping has been used by the brewing industry to obtain beers with increased contents of flavor and bitterness compounds. Notwithstanding this, other compounds such as α-acids (AA) and xhanthohumol (XN) are co-extracted influencing the final characteristics of the beer, particularly its beneficial bioactivity. In this context a model for the understanding of AA and XN extraction by dry-hopping is proposed. The varieties Chinook (CHI), East Kent Goldings (EKG) and Tettnanger (TET) were assayed and robust statistical approaches were applied for data interpretation. Concentration of AA in beers post-maturation reached values higher than 20 mg/L using 2.8 g/L of CHI hops and 10 days of maturation. For XN, a similar behavior was verified. The maximum efficiency of AA and XN extraction (transfer rate) were reached at 13.5 days with dose rates of 147 and 13.9 mg/L, respectively. Authors are grateful to the project UID/QUI/50006/2013-POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265 with support from FCT/MEC through national funds and co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. M. A. Faria is grateful for research contract from NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000011 – FoodNanoHealth and A. Melo wishes to thank the Fundação para a Ciência Tecnologia for grants SFRH/BPD/86898/2012. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Publisher Summary Olive oil authenticity continues to be the target of many studies, reflecting its high economic value, not only for the producers in Mediterranean countries, but also for consumers worldwide. A vast amount of legislation relating to the accurate characterization and classification of olive oil has boosted scientific work on this subject. The main aim of these studies is to control changes of olive oil composition in order to protect both the consumer from adulteration and the industry from unfair competition, as well as preserving the prestigious image of olive oil itself. High-quality olive oils such as those labeled as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) or mono-varietal olive oils can provide opportunities for very sophisticated types of adulterations that are very difficult to detect. Numerous attempts have been made to find suitable methods to authenticate the composition of olive oils. Generally, the analytical techniques used investigate one or more of the constituents of olive oil, such as triacylglycerols, fatty acids, sterols, alkanes, waxes and aliphatic alcohols. These can prove the presence/absence of adulterants, or verify geographical or cultivar origin by comparing with known samples or legally established limits. In recent years several reviews have been published using general techniques to authenticate olive oils or utilizing special techniques such as chromatographic techniques. Rather than being an exhaustive revision of published works, this chapter aims to summarize the analytical methods utilized so far to authenticate and provide quality control for olive oils, especially those categorized as extra virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil. Methods referred to are further divided into the type of technique used in the analytical methodology as follows: (i) chromatographic, (ii) spectroscopic/spectrometric and (iii) DNA-based techniques.

This article introduces the use of in-line and in situ monitoring of the dynamic evolution of PVC morphological properties in suspension polymerization reactions based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) intended for control applications. It is shown for the first time that it is possible to follow the dynamic evolution of morphological properties (such as the bulk density, BD, and the cold plasticizer absorption, CPA) in real time. The obtained results indicate that closed-loop control schemes can be properly implemented to control end-use resin properties, which depend upon the morphology of PVC polymer particles. Suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride performed in bench and pilot scale showed that process variables, such as the agitation speed and the amount of suspending agents) can be successfully manipulated in order to control the morphological parameters of PVC resin. Based on this information, a control scheme for these parameters is proposed.

The monitoring of polymer properties is frequently performed through sampling and off-line measurement of quality parameters in lab scale. Because of the long time required to perform off-line analyses, off-line data are generally inadequate for control purposes. As impurities cannot be detected in-line and can exert significant influence on the polymerization kinetics, modifications of some important quality parameters (such as the morphological characteristics of PVC particles) can only be detected at the end of the polymerization, causing major production losses. In the present work it is shown for the first time that it is possible to monitor some of the morphological properties of PVC (such as the bulk density, BD, the cold plasticizer absorption, CPA, and the average particle diameter Dp) in situ and in real time with the help of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in suspension polymerization processes.