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In recent years, the increasing demand for alternative foods has shifted research toward new sources enriched with nutraceutical molecules. It is well known that many diseases are caused by oxidative stress; thus, the supplementation of antioxidants has been proposed to reduce it. Cannabis sativa L. is an interesting species that could provide an alternative source of antioxidants. This work aimed to investigate the possibility of optimizing the yield of cannabidiol (CBD) and recovering it from residual biomass (stalks), valorizing the residual biomass, and using this for protein bar preparation. Different extraction methods were used, and High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was used to analyze the extracts. Antioxidant power was investigated using the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assays. The best results in terms of CBD yield were obtained via dynamic maceration after decarboxylation with a quantity of 26.7 ± 2 mgCBD/graw material from inflorescences. The extract also shows good antioxidant power with an IC50 value of 38.1 ± 1.1 µg/mL measured using the DPPH assay. The CBD extract was added to the hemp oil to obtain dough for protein bars. The doughs were studied by taking rheological and technological measurements, and it was found that the protein bars could provide an excellent means for the consumption of products enriched with antioxidants because their CBD anti-inflammatory activity is preserved after cooking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is traditionally processed for its high fibre content in the textile industry, but in recent years, it has come to constitute a new raw material in the food industry. Hemp seeds, but also the seed meal, are rich in protein (25%) and oil (30%), the latter consisting of 80–90% of unsaturated fatty acids; they represent a rich and balanced nutritional source to replace the classic animal sources, and they are used in the food industry to supply new food trends. In this work, the hemp oil extraction process was studied, taking advantage of the supercritical CO2 and ultrasounds, and comparing it with the exhaustive Soxhlet technique. The residual cake from extraction is a protein-rich waste that can be used for food formulations. From this perspective, the hemp oil extracted was used to formulate emulsions with the consistency of vegetable drinks, enriched with standard hemp protein isolate and stabilized with the addition of 0.05% w/w of thickening polysaccharides (Gellan gum). The formulated emulsion is stable, and this can encourage the process improvement and the use of the waste from hemp seed extraction for the valorisation of by-products and waste to obtain complete food products with high nutritional value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emulgels are biphasic emulsified systems in which the continuous phase is structured with a specific gelling agent. In this work, a rheological and microscopic investigation of O/W emulgels prepared by structuring the aqueous (continuous) phase with citrus fiber was carried out with the aim of designing their macroscopic properties for food uses and predicting their characteristics with a rheological model. According to previous investigations, fiber suspensions behave as "particle gels" and, consequently, the derived emulgels' properties are strongly dependent on the fiber concentration and on process conditions adopted to produce them. Therefore, a rotor–stator system was used to prepare emulgels with increasing fiber content and with different levels of energy and power used for mixing delivered to the materials. An investigation of particle gels was then carried out, fixing the operating process conditions according to emulgel results. Furthermore, the effect of the dispersed (oil) phase volume fraction was varied and a modified semi-empirical Palierne model was proposed with the aim of optimizing a correlation between rheological properties and formulation parameters, fixing the process conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the research on innovative food packaging has been oriented toward biodegradable materials to lower the environmental impact generated by conventional plastics. The films often carry functional additives interacting with the matrix and modifying its physical properties. In this work tannin, a scarcely exploited active additive, was used to obtain potato starch-based films, and its content was optimized on the basis of mechanical and microscopic tests. Rheological measurements were adopted to evaluate the tannin-starch interaction and the microstructure of the film forming solutions (FFSs). Their thickness, color, thermal conductivity, elastic modulus (E el), elongation at break (EAB), surface wettability and water solubility were evaluated. Furthermore, microstructure was investigated through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), polarized light (POM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that all FFSs behave as weak gels and tannin addition weakens the gel structure and decreases the gelatinization temperature from about 60 °C to 57 °C. Plastic and deformable films (E el = 1.96 MPa and EAB = 189 %) were obtained at low tannin fractions, whereas, at a higher concentration, stiffer films (E el = 12 MPa and EAB = 10 %), with hydrophobic behavior were produced. Among the tested tannin fractions, an intermediate value of 1.7 % (w/w) was found to be promising for industrial purposes. • Tannin hinders gelatinization and gelation of starch-based filmogenic solutions. • Tannin gives plasticizing effects in small amounts, stiffening effects in larger ones. • Addition of tannin leads to an increase in hydrophobicity of the film surface. • For low tannin addition, FFS rheology agrees with film mechanical properties. • The FTIR investigation agrees with mechanical properties of film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interfacial activity of commercial low-methoxy (LM) and high-methoxy (HM) pectins from citrus peel was investigated at air-water interfaces by focusing on the role of their molecular weight (MW) and degree of methoxylation (DM). A pendant drop tensiometer was used to carry out transient interfacial tension measurements and small amplitude oscillations. Different pectin concentrations (ranging between 0.00001 g/100 g and 5 g/100 g) and pH conditions (4 and 6) were used during the tests. It was observed that citrus pectins are characterised by interesting surface properties that could allow potential practical uses. Experimental results evidenced that MW affects the diffusion of molecules towards the interface, whereas other investigated parameters (i.e. surface tension, adsorption rate, dynamic moduli) seem more dependent on DM and a clear dependence on MW was not observed. pH conditions modify intermolecular interactions in the bulk and surface layer, even if their effects are related to the fraction and distribution of carboxylic groups along the chain. As a consequence, a complex dependence on investigated parameters was observed and no clear relationship was obtained. Nevertheless, among tested commercial samples LM pectins exhibited the most interesting properties and this behaviour seems related to the intermolecular interactions occurring among them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]