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Aromas are widely recognized for influencing human stimulation, mood and, consequently, choices and decisions [1]. This work aims to study the extracts of Rosmarinus of icinalis L. leaves and Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb fruits as food ingredients. The extracts were obtained by SFE-CO2technology. Three sample groups were prepared: i) bread containing rosemary extract (40 μL/Kg of bread) ii) bread containing almond extract (10 μL/Kg of bread), and iii) bread without any functionalizing element (control sample). The samples were cooked in industrial ovens and the perception of the cooked products was evaluated by acceptability tests. The nutritional profile (protein, ash, fat, carbohydrate and energy content) was determined using official methodologies for the analysis of food products (AOAC). The chemical profile was evaluated, determining free sugars by HPLC-RI, fatty acids by GC-FID, and the most abundant terpene molecules (D-limonene and eucalyptol) by HS SPME-GC-MS. The results showed a very similar nutritional profile in all tested samples. The moisture presented values of 40%, the protein content varied between 6.4 and 6.8 g/100g fresh weight (fw), the amount of ash was about 1 g/100g fw, and the lipid content was on average 0.15 g/100g fw. Considering the fiber concentration, the values ranging between 3 and 4%, being higher in the control sample. In chemical composition, fructose, glucose and maltose were detected in sugar profile, and in fatty acids composition the polyunsaturated fatty acids were the most abundant in all cases. Regarding the terpene composition of bread crust and crumb samples, the aroma molecules of P. dulcis fruit were manly detected in the crumb samples, with this behavior persisting over the time. Moreover, R. of icinalis molecules were firstly detected (t0) in the bread crust, but after 4 hours (t4), they were identified in crumbs. The inclusion of extracts improved consumer assessment of the visual appearance, texture and overall acceptability of the breads. In conclusion, this work emphasizes the importance of studying natural aromas as food ingredients to improve the sensory perception of bread, maintaining their nutritional profile. It also represents as a steppingstone for a new generation of foods under the olfactive marketing concept, validated in an industrial context. The authors are thankful for the samples provided by Deifil Technology Lda. and M. Ferreira & Filhas Lda. This work was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural®. This work was also supported by LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/50020/2020 (LSRE-LCM), and UIDB/00690/2020 (CIMO) funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). L. Barros also thank the national funding by FCT, P.I. through the institutional scientific employment and individual program-contract, and Júlia Cristiê Kessler acknowledges her Ph.D scholarship (ref. 2020.06656.BD) by FCT. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Microalgae are valuable sources of proteins (20-70%) and have emerged as great alternatives to animal-based proteins (e.g., whey protein, egg yolk)1. This work aimed to obtain a microalga protein extract (SpE) from Artrhospira platensis (Spirulina) and evaluate its techno-functional properties and emulsion formation capability. The SpE was obtained by ultrasound and conventional mechanical stirring under an alkaline medium (pH 9.0) followed by acid precipitation (pH 3.0)2. In addition, the SpE techno-functional (protein solubility; oil and water absorption capacities) and structural properties (FTIR analysis) were investigated. Moreover, an emulsion (oil/water ratio (30/70); pH 7.0; SpE concentration (3.5%)) was prepared according to two sequential steps: i) high-shear homogenization (UltraTurrax; 11,000 rpm; 3 min) and ii) high-pressure homogenization (100MPa; 6 cycles)3. Then, it was analysed by optical microscopy, zeta potential and particle size. The SpE (66.6%±0.31 protein) presented the lowest solubility at pH 3.0 and the highest at pH 8.0. The protein extract showed higher absorption capacity in oil (21.7±0.10 g oil/ g SPE) than in water (10.3±0.50 g water/ g SPE). From the FTIR analysis (Figure 1a), the SpE showed two peaks at 1635 cm-1 and 1535 cm-1 (red circle in Figure 1a) attributed to the presence of characteristic protein groups, amide I and amide II, respectively. The oil-in-water emulsion (ESp) presented a light blue-green colour due to the presence of SpE (Figure 1a) and remained stable for 30 days (Figure 1b). The SpE presented a zeta potential of -47.20 mV and a particle size of 330 nm (D50, volume distribution) on the 30th storage day. Small and spherical droplets were observed, evidencing the particle size and stability over the storage time (Figure 1c). Thus, the SpE showed the ability to form emulsions with stability for up to 30 days, being a great alternative to replace animal-based and synthetic emulsifiers. CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020), and AL LSRE-LCM (UIDB/50020/2020) funded by FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). National funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for L. Barros, A. Fernandes, A. Santamaria, and Y. Manrique contracts. G. Colucci thanks project GreenHealth for her contract. A4F, SA – Algae for Future (www.a4f.pt) for supplying the studied microalga. FCT for the Research grant (SFRH/BD/148281/2019) of Samara Cristina da Silva. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Nanoemulsions are systems comprising three constituents, hydrophilic, lipophilic and amphiphilic compounds, forming a single macroscopic phase with reduced particle size. Nowadays, an important topic under study is the introduction of natural products as surfactants. This is partly motivated by consumer’s demands for more sustainable products, leading industry and researchers to search for alternatives with natural-friendly connotation, avoiding the large utilization of the synthetic forms. In this context, recent studies have focused the use of saponins, highlighting its physicochemical properties, and commercial potential for the development of natural-based emulsions [1,2]. Thus, the objective of this work is to optimize a nanoemulsion formulation incorporating saponin as surfactant, through response surface methodology (RSM). The systems were formed with the natural surfactant, pure saponin from Quillaja Bark, and glycerol as co-surfactant. Sweet almond oil was used as the lipophilic component. To produce the nanoemulsions, a high energy technique was chosen, namely high-pressure homogenization (HPH). The produced emulsions were characterized by measuring the zeta potential, droplet size (by laser diffraction) technique), pH and viscosity. In order to select the best formulation, a 2k full-factorial design with 3 factors and 3 replicates at the central point was implemented. The chosen parameters were oil/water ratio (10/90, 20/80, 30/70, w/w), surfactant content in the mixture (0.5, 1 and 1.5%, w/w) and the surfactant/co-surfactant ratio (50/50, 75/25, 100/0, w/w). The results obtained with the produced formulations showed zeta potential to vary between -40.3 and -46.0 (evidencing high stability) and a particle size in volume comprised in the range 111.9-431.4 nm. These two parameters were selected to perform the experimental design to find the most stable systems. Nanoemulsions with pure saponin were successfully produced, where the formulations with better long term stability were those prepared with the lower amount of oil, which is 10%. It is important to point out that taking into consideration final product applications, to have less than 10% of the lipophilic component it is not suitable. Regarding the amount of surfactant, smaller droplet sizes, and consequently lower zeta potentials, were achieved at its highest content. The co-surfactant glycerol showed to have no significant impact in zeta potential, even it showed to slightly increase droplet’s size. This work is financed by POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (LA LSRE-LCM) and UID/AGR/00690/2013 (CIMO), funded by FEDER, through POCI-COMPETE2020 and FCT; Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, funded by NORTE2020 under PT2020. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

An emulsion is a colloidal dispersion composed by a mixture of two immiscible liquids, being one the dispersed phase, as droplets, and the other one the continuous phase. In this work, a comparative study comprising the surfactants Tween 80 (synthetic surfactant) and Saponin (natural surfactant) and the oils Miglyol 812 and Sweet Almond was performed. The development of emulsions based on ternary phase diagrams showed that different phases can be formed giving rise to different formulations: microemulsions, gels, and mixtures with 1, 2 and 3 phases. The application of the HPH technique produced stable nanoemulsions with narrow distributions. Considering Tween 80, and comparing the two oils, Miglyol 812 gave rise to emulsions with lower particle size (0.023μm), comparatively to Sweet Almond Oil (1.009μm). This difference can be related with the oil viscosity, which is lower for Miglyol 812. Comparing the two surfactants, natural Saponin was very effective in the o/w composition range. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Plants are used in various fields due their sensory, nutritional and medicinal properties, and aromatic plants can be used as functional food ingredients to enhance organoleptic properties and/or to replace the salt. Additionally, their large amount of bioactive compounds, namely phenolic compounds (PC), can contribute to food preservation, promote human health (Costa et al., 2015), and provide bioactive effects. Tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus L., usually known for its pleasant spicy aroma, is widely used in food preparations (Hassanzadeh et al., 2016). In this work, a lyophilized hydroethanolic tarragon extract was characterized in terms of PC and bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities and further used to develop functional foods namely by its incorporation in pizza dough. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (LA LSRE-LCM), funded by FEDER, through POCI-COMPETE2020 and FCT; Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, funded by NORTE2020 under the PT2020, through ERDF; FCT and ERDF under PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). Andreia Ribeiro acknowledges her PhD fellowship funded by Project NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000028, supported by N2020, under PT2020, through ESF. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Mushrooms are widely appreciated all over the world for their nutritional and pharmacological value being sources of important bioactive compounds. In this study the antioxidant potential of Suillus luteus and Coprinopsis atramentaria mushroom alcoholic extracts, and its synergistic effect, was evaluated before and after being spray-dried with maltodextrin, aiming at its exploitation as functional food ingredients. The antioxidant activity of free and spray-dried extracts was studied in vitro by DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power and inhibition of β-carotene bleaching (this only applied with free extracts assays). The encapsulation yield of the spray-drying process was around 50% and efficiency, determined in terms of cinnamic acid, comprised between 40-60%. The evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the combined extracts pointed out for synergistic effects.

The incorporation of mushroom extracts in food matrices configures an example of functional foods/nutraceuticals development. They are recognized as having anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial and antioxidant properties allowing the obtaining of health benefits, including disease prevention [1]. However, these extracts can present instability at high temperatures, presence of oxygen and light. Moreover, they are generally characterized by a strong odour and flavour. In this work, alcoholic extracts of two mushrooms species, Suillus luteus (SI) and Coprinopsis atramentaria (Ca), were studied for their antioxidant effect and their viability as functional food ingredients tested by incorporation into a food matrix (cottage cheese). In a first step, the individual extracts and a combination of both showing synergistic effects (Sl:Ca, 1:1) were microencapsulated by spray drying using maltodextrin as the encapsulating material [2]. After evaluating the antioxidant properties of the microencapsulated extracts and confirmation of their maintenance, comparatively to the corresponding free extract forms, the work proceeded with the incorporation of the microencapsulated and free forms into the cottage cheese. The incorporation of free extracts resulted in products with higher initial antioxidant activity (t=O days) but declining for t=7 days, which can be associated with their degradation. However, the cottage cheese enriched with the microencapsulated extracts, that have revelled a lower activity at initial time, showed for t=7 days an increase. This improvement can be explained by an effective protection provided by the microspheres together with a sustained release. Analyses performed on the studied cottage cheese samples showed the maintenance of the nutritional properties.