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The lower content of phenolic compounds in white chocolate makes this confectionery product unhealthier and, thus, adequate for enrichment compared to other types of chocolates like dark or milk. Less phenolics in white chocolate is due to absence of dark cocoa solids, abundant in these compounds. This study aimed to develop a new product with a higher nutritional value than regular white chocolate by enriching white chocolate with blueberry juice as a natural source of polyphenols. Since phenolic compounds are highly sensitive to heat, light, oxygen, and pH, encapsulated form of blueberry juice was used to increase their stability in the product. Blueberry juice was encapsulated on maltodextrin (B/M) and added to white chocolate at 80 g/kg and 100 g/kg concentrations. Enrichment significantly (p0.05) except for the sweetness. The enriched chocolate samples were less sweet. The results of this study indicate the potential of maltodextrin as a carrier of sensitive bioactive compounds for the enrichment of products like white chocolate.

AbstractIn the present study, phenolic and flavonoid composition and biological properties of methanolic extract of wild growing Paxillus involutus collected in Serbia have been investigated. Ellagic acid was the most abundant phenolic compound (34.92 µg g−1), followed by 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (4.51 µg g−1), whereas isoorientin was the most abundant flavonoid (3.42 µg g−1). P. involutus turned out to be a rich source of phenolic compounds (74.67 mg GAE g−1 d.w.), whereas total flavonoid content was significantly lower (4.05 mg QE g−1 d.w.). As for the various investigated biological activities, methanolic extract exerted high level of antioxidant, antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities. The highest antioxidative potential was measured by TAC (350 TE mg g−1 d.w.), whereas evaluation of antimicrobial properties showed selective antimicrobial potential toward tested pathogenic microorganisms, with resistant strain of E. coli being the most susceptible to the activity of the extract (MIC 0.08 mg mL−1, MBC 0.16 mg mL−1). Furthermore, methanolic extract of P. involutus demonstrated genotoxicity, severe hemolysis effects and selective cytotoxicity against colon cancer cells. From the obtained data, it may be concluded that investigated mushroom albeit being toxic for human consumption, may be considered as a source of highly bioactive components with potential application in drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, with the rise in customer awareness about the quality of the food they consume and its health benefits, new methods for producing food fat replacers have been developed. Since then, significant progress has been made in enhancing these techniques. Methods such as emulsion template, foam template, and solvent exchange are frequently employed for creating fat replacers known as oleo- or emulsion gels, commonly used in food products. As the interest in developing fat replacers continues to grow, it has become essential to explore and pursue new materials suitable for producing protein-based fat replacers. Given the increasing food consumption, food waste is on the rise. The goal is to maximize food utilization and create high-protein, nutritionally rich foods with minimal waste. This involves using new materials, such as alternative proteins or food by-products, and finding effective methods for their utilization. This review aims to provide insights into the variety of materials and methods employed to prepare protein-based fat replacers as documented in the available literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we describe the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antibiofilm, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing potential of aqueous and polysaccharide extracts from three widely appreciated mushrooms: Agrocybe aegerita, Laetiporus sulphureus and Agaricus bisporus. Moreover, we present their detailed phenolic, polysaccharide and protein profiles and ATR-FTIR spectra. The study found that polysaccharide extracts (PEs) from mushrooms had higher total and β-glucan levels than aqueous extracts (AEs), with A. aegerita showing the highest content. L. sulphureus had a higher total protein content, and A. aegerita AE had the highest phenolic content. Our results indicate that all the tested extracts have high potential regarding their bioactive properties, with A. aegerita being the most promising one. Namely, the antibacterial activity assay showed that the development of the skin-infection-causing agent, Staphylococcus aureus, was inhibited with a minimal inhibitory concentration of 4.00 mg/mL and minimal bactericidal concentration of 8.00 mg/mL, while the results regarding wound healing showed that, over the course of 24 h, the A. aegerita extract actively promoted wound closure in the HaCaT keratinocyte cell line model. The anti-inflammatory activity results clearly showed that when we used S. aureus as an inflammation-inducing agent and the A. aegerita aqueous extract in treatment, IL-6 levels reduced to the level of 4.56 pg/mL. The obtained data suggest that the tested mushroom extracts may serve as a source of bioactive compounds, with potential applications in the cosmeceutical, pharmaceutical and food industries. Furthermore, potential skin preparations carefully crafted with mushroom extract may help restore the skin's barrier function, decrease the probability of staph infections and minimize skin irritation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the current work was to assess the nutritional profile and phytochemical properties of cucurbit (Cucurbita maxima L.) seeds, seed oils and oil extraction by-products (e.g., seed-cakes). Our results suggest a high nutritional value for both cucurbit seeds and cucurbit cake, while γ-tocopherol was the richest compound, with traces of α, β and δ-tocopherol compounds also detected. Regarding the free sugars composition, there were recorded significant statistical differences between seeds and cucurbit seed-cake, although sucrose content was the highest for both matrices (1.97 and 2.9 g/100 g dw, respectively) followed by trehalose (0.26 and 0.25 g/100 g dw, respectively), fructose (0.20 and 0.34 g/100 g dw, respectively) and glucose (0.21 and 0.19 g/100 g dw, respectively). In terms of organic acids, oxalic was the only compound detected in seed cake (0.006 g/100 g dw), while in seeds only traces of oxalic and malic acid were detected. In relation to fatty acid composition, linolenic acid was the most abundant compound in both seeds and seed-cake (43.9% and 41.5%, respectively), while oleic acid (37.0% and 36.3%, respectively), palmitic acid (12.2% and 14.0%, respectively) and stearic acid (4.83% and 5.46%, respectively) were detected in lesser amounts. Moreover, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were the major fatty acids class (44.5% and 42.3% in seeds and seed cake, respectively) compared to monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA; 37.4% and 36.7% in seeds and seed cake, respectively) and saturated fatty acids (SFA; 18.1% and 21.0% in seeds and seed cake, respectively) which were detected in lower amounts. Furthermore, the tested extracts did not present any cytotoxic or hepatoxic activity at the maximum tested concentration (GI50 > 400 μg/mL), while seed oils presented satisfactory antimicrobial properties with inhibitory activity against the studied bacterial strains and fungi. Our findings provide valuable knowledge regarding the exploitation of pumpkin seeds and seed by-products as valuable natural sources of nutrients and phytochemicals in the food industry sector within the context of a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed the influence of the addition of Zn- and Se-fortified wheat flour to corn extrudates on viscosity, total starch content, starch damage, and bioavailability of zinc and selenium. Fortified wheat flour was added to corn grits in 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40 ratios at three extrusion temperature profiles: 140/170/170 °C, 150/180/180 °C, and 160/190/190 °C. Viscosity values decreased significantly at different extrusion temperature profiles and at different proportions of wheat. The extrusion process increased the starch content, regardless of the extrusion temperature, and decreased it by adding different proportions of flour enriched with zinc and selenium. The starch damage increased with extrusion, without significant changes with extrusion temperature increment. The addition of different proportions of Zn- and Se-fortified wheat flour reduced starch damage values proportionally to the added content of enriched wheat. Increasing the temperature and the proportions, the total zinc content in the extrudates increased. Zinc bioavailability increased with increasing extrusion temperature. As for selenium, the total content increased by proportion increment but decreased with an increase in the extrusion temperature, though there were no significant differences in selenium bioavailability regardless of changes in extrusion temperature or the proportion of enriched wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple pomace is a by-product of the apple processing industry and can be used for various uses such as animal feed, for composting, or to extract valuable compounds such as pectin or antioxidants. In recent years, it has also gained attention as a potential food ingredient due to its fibre content and antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of three parameters: the percentage of wheat flour replaced by extrudate (5%, 10%, and 15%), the percentage of apple pomace in the extrudate (15%, 30%, and 45% based on the mass of corn grits), and the particle size of the extrudate (<250 µm; 250–1000 µm; 1000–2000 µm) on the properties of cookies, using the Box–Behnken experimental design. The addition of extrudates enriched with apple pomace significantly increased the total fibre and ash content of the cookies. The hydroxymethylfurfural content also increased, but not above the permitted limits (25 mg/kg). The sensory quality was strongly influenced by the particle size, especially the hardness, graininess, and appearance of the cookies. The addition of extrudate led to a darker colour of the cookies and a significant increase in the proportion of red tones, but generally had no negative influence on the acceptability of the cookies and their microbiological stability during the 6-month storage period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, determination of medicinal plants was performed within eight departments in the area of the Šuma Košutnjak Natural Monument. Overall, a total of 101 medicinal plants were established in the whole research area. The identification of medicinal plants was conducted according to appropriate references. In addition to this, taxonomy analysis, definining of floral elements and finally determining of life forms for the recorded species were also performed. As for the taxonomy analysis, the greatest abundance in the whole research area was found for families Lamiaceae (12 representatives) and Rosaceae (10 representatives), while all other families are not so much present. There are overall 27 floral elements in the whole research area and among them, most of them belong to submideuropean (18 individuals) and european (16 individuals) floral elements, while the share of all other floral elements is much smaller. As for the life forms, the most dominant are hemicryptophytes (45 representatives), then phanerophytes (23 representatives) and finally therophytes (10 representatives). Differences between some departments have been established just in terms of the number of medicinal plants.

To improve the nutritional value of bread, as well as to satisfy consumers whose awareness of the importance of nutrition to preserve health is growing significantly, it is desirable to enrich bread and bakery products with functional components. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is an evergreen tree that is widely distributed in the Mediterranean region and belongs to the legumes group. As carob pulp contains a unique combination of polyphenolic compounds and dietary fibre, it can be a useful raw material for the production of enriched bakery products. In this work, the possibility of applying carob extract as a potential natural preservative and functional additive in the production of bread was investigated. With this aim, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5% of powdered carob extract (CP) were added to bread dough and the quality characteristics of the bread were examined. The microbiological quality of bread was significantly better in samples with the addition of CP, which was confirmed by the lower values of the total number of bacteria and the absence of the Bacillus cereus. The addition of up to 3.5% carob extract had no negative effect on the sensory quality of the bread. The brightness of the bread samples decreased (L*), while the proportion of the red tone (a*) increased, and the intensity of the yellow tone (b*) decreased with an increase in the proportion of CP. The amount of total phenols (0.27 mg GAE/g) for the sample with 3.5% CP in bread was significantly higher compared to the control sample (0.12 mg GAE/g). The total antioxidant activity also increased significantly with the increase in the proportion of CP. Therefore, the present study proves that powdered carob extract can be successfully included in the production of a healthy functional food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic/polymer composites can be chemically stable, mechanically strong, and flexible, which make them candidates for electric devices, such as pressure or temperature sensors, energy storage or harvesting devices, actuators, and so forth. Depending on the application, various electrical properties are of importance. Polymers usually have low dielectric permittivity, but increased dielectric permittivity can be achieved by the addition of the ceramic fillers with high dielectric constant. With the aim to enhance dielectric properties of the composite without loss of flexibility, 5 wt% of BaTiO3‐Fe2O3 powder was added into a polyvinylidene fluoride matrix. The powder was prepared by different synthesis conditions to produce core/shell structures. The effect of the phase composition and morphology of the BaTiO3‐Fe2O3 core/shell filler on the structure and lattice dynamics of the polymer composites was investigated. Based on the results of the thermal analysis, various parameters of ceramic/polymer composites were determined. Differences in the phase composition and morphology of the filler have an influence on the formation of various polyvinylidene fluoride allomorphs and the degree of crystallinity. Furthermore, the dielectric performances of pure polyvinylidene fluoride and the polymer/ceramic composites were measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diffuse gamma ray emission from the Galactic center at 2-3 GeV, as well as the 12 TeV gamma ray excess in the Galactic disk, remain open for debate and represent the missing puzzles in the complete picture of the high-energy Milky Way sky. Our papers emphasize the importance of understanding all of the populations that contribute to the diffuse gamma background in order to discriminate between the astrophysical sources such as supernova remnants and pulsars, and something that is expected to be seen in gamma rays and is much more exotic - dark matter. We analyze two separate data sets that have been measured in different energy ranges from the “Fermi-LAT” and “Milagro” telescopes, using these as a powerful tool to limit and test our analytical source population models. We model supernova remnants and pulsars, estimating the number of still undetected ones that contribute to the diffuse background, trying to explain both the Galactic center and the 12 TeV excess. Furthermore, we aim to predict the number of soon to be detected sources with new telescopes, such as the “HAWC”.

The microencapsulation of essential oils can provide their evaporation and oxidation protection, flavor retention or/and masking of unpleasant taste. The microencapsulation process involves emulsions preparation and drying of the obtained emulsion droplets. The aim of this study is the determination of optimal conditions for preparation of the stable O/W emulsions containing juniper berry essential oil with minimal droplet size, as a preparatory stage for microcapsule formation. As the first step for pre-emulsions preparation, homogenization at 10000 rpm for 5 min. was chosen, which gave emulsions with droplet size between 1.82 and 2.51μm, depending on concentrations of the surfactant (Tween 20) and encapsulated essential oil. The second step was ultrasound emulsification during 5 minutes at a frequency of 99%, using pulsed 10:10 s (ON/OFF) ultrasound treatment, which was chosen as an optimal, creating emulsions of droplet sizes of 320 nm in diameter (for 5% essential oil and 1% Tween 20). The addition of wall material changed the size and stability of emulsions, which depends on type of biopolymer and its surface competition with used surfactant. The maltodextrin (MD), gum arabic (GA) and their mixture in equal ratio were used. GA emulsions can be singled out as the most stable without used surfactant, with D4,3 = 1.11 ± 0.003 μm. Using MD as a wall material requires addition of surfactant (1% w/v) to form stable emulsions. The mixture of MD/GA can be used with or without surfactant. The addition of Tween 20 (1% w/v) decreases droplet size from 14.86 to 0.99 μm, while utilization of the ultrasound contributes to the droplet size decrease and emulsions stability. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 46010]

Apple pomace, a by-product that remains after extraction of juice from fruit, is a good source of dietary fibre, minerals and different phytochemicals such as phenolic acids. Although the valorization of apple pomace as a bakery ingredient was performed by several authors, there is a lack of information on attempts of incorporation of apple by-products in the form of coextrudates with corn grits (CAPCG). In this study, sponge cakes were created with apple pomace coextruded with corn grits in the ratio of 45:55 by partial replacing wheat flour with coextrudate in the formulation at 10%, 20% and 30% level. With the increase in the proportion of coextruded particles, the farinographic characteristics of dough samples showed an increase in water absorption and dough development time due to larger particles of coextrudates, and loss of dough elasticity. Consequently, the cake specific volume decreased over the range between 3.6 - 14.2%, but only the substitution level of 30% yielded an increase in cake firmness after 1 h of cooling and after 24 h of storage. The estimation of sponge cake sensory properties using the hedonic scale from 1 to 9 showed that the most acceptable texture was found in the control sample, whereas all sponge cakes with CAPCG had significantly higher acceptance of odour and taste in comparison to the control cake. From the nutritional point of view, sponge cakes substituted with CAPCG showed higher total dietary fibre content than the control wheat sponge cake.

Pasta is a low-cost and easy-to-prepare food product. By using fresh pasta, the drying process is omitted, which represents significant energy and financial savings, but the durability of such pasta is very limited. The addition of plant materials (parsley, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, nettle, spinach, and carob) to the dough affects the microbiological stability and thus the durability of the fresh pasta, which can then be stored longer in the refrigerator without the need to freeze the product. With significant energy savings due to the omission of the drying and freezing processes, extending the shelf life of the pasta will contribute to the reduction of food waste and thus contribute to a more sustainable production system. The aim of this work was to examine the possibility of producing fresh pasta with the addition of plant materials from the perspectives of technological and sensory quality, as well as microbiological composition. The incorporation of plant materials (10 g/100 g) decreased water absorption and had no effect on optimal cooking time. Thyme-enriched pasta had significantly lower (p < 0.05) cooking loss (3.34%) than the control sample (4.12%). In cinnamon-, spinach-, and parsley-enriched pasta, an appealing colour and pleasant smell and taste were achieved. Cinnamon and carob proved to have the most favourable effect on the microbiological quality (reduction in mesophilic, Enterobacteriaceae, and yeast counts), followed by spinach (reduction in mould count). For cinnamon-enriched pasta, the best technological (optimal cooking time of 3.23 min; cooking loss of 4.41%; firmness of 531.94 g) and sensory and microbiological quality were achieved; thus, cinnamon proved to be the preferred natural preservative for the production of enriched pasta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]