Enhanced stability and clinical absorption of a form of encapsulated vitamin A for food fortification.

Food fortification is an effective strategy to address vitamin A (VitA) deficiency, which is the leading cause of childhood blindness and drastically increases mortality from severe infections. However, VitA food fortification remains challenging due to significant degradation during storage and cooking. We utilized an FDA-approved, thermostable, and pH-responsive basic methacrylate copolymer (BMC) to encapsulate and stabilize VitA in microparticles (MPs). Encapsulation of VitA in VitA-BMC MPs greatly improved stability during simulated cooking conditions and long-term storage. VitA absorption was nine times greater from cooked MPs than from cooked free VitA in rats. In a randomized controlled cross-over study in healthy premenopausal women, VitA was readily released from MPs after consumption and had a similar absorption profile to free VitA. This VitA encapsulation technology will enable global food fortification strategies toward eliminating VitA deficiency.

Influence of key component interactions in flour on the quality of fried flour products.

In the field of food, the interaction between various components in food is commonly used to regulate food quality. Starches, proteins, and lipids are ubiquitous in the food system and play a critical role in the food system. The interaction between proteins, starches, and lipids components in flour is the molecular basis for the formation of the classical texture of dough, and has a profound impact on the processing properties of dough and the quality of flour products. In this article, the composition of the key components of flour (starch, protein and lipid) and their functions in dough processing were reviewed, and the interaction mechanism of the three components in the dynamic processing of dough from mixing to rising to frying was emphatically discussed, and the effects of the components on the network structure of dough and then on the quality of fried flour products were introduced. The analysis of the relationship between dough component interaction, network structure and quality of fried flour products is helpful to reveal the common mechanism of quality change of fried flour products, and provide a reference for exploring the interaction of ingredients in starch food processing.

Unlocking the health potential of anthocyanins: a structural insight into their varied biological effects.

Anthocyanins have become increasingly important to the food industry due to their colorant features and many health-promoting activities. Numerous studies have linked anthocyanins to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic properties, as well as protection against heart disease, certain types of cancer, and a reduced risk of diabetes and cognitive disorders. Anthocyanins from various foods may exhibit distinct biological and health-promoting activities owing to their structural diversity. In this review, we have collected and tabulated the key information from various recent published studies focusing on investigating the chemical structure effect of anthocyanins on their stability, antioxidant activities, in vivo fate, and changes in the gut microbiome. This information should be valuable in comprehending the connection between the molecular structure and biological function of anthocyanins, with the potential to enhance their application as both colorants and functional compounds in the food industry.

Recent advances in enzymatic modification techniques to improve the quality of flour-based fried foods.

Flour-based fried foods are among the most commonly consumed foods worldwide. However, the sensory attributes and nutritional value of fried foods are inconsistent and unstable. Therefore, the creation of fried foods with desirable sensory attributes and good nutritional value remains a major challenge for the development of the fried food industry. The quality of flour-based fried foods can sometimes be improved by physical methods and the addition of chemical modifiers. However, enzyme modification is widely accepted by consumers due to its unique advantages of specificity, mild processing conditions and high safety. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the effects of enzyme treatments on the sensory attributes (color, flavor and texture), oil absorption and digestibility of flour-based fried foods. This paper reviews recent research progress in utilizing enzyme modification to improve the quality of flour-based fried foods. This paper begins with the effects of common enzymes on the physicochemical properties (rheological property, retrogradation property and specific volume) of dough. Based on the analysis of the mechanism of formation of sensory attributes and nutritional properties, it focuses on the application of amylase, protease, transglutaminase, and lipase in the regulation of sensory attributes and nutritional properties of flour-based fried foods.

Impact of Pesticide Type and Emulsion Fat Content on the Bioaccessibility of Pesticides in Natural Products.

There is interest in incorporating nanoemulsions into certain foods and beverages, including dips, dressings, drinks, spreads, and sauces, due to their potentially beneficial attributes. In particular, excipient nanoemulsions can enhance the bioavailability of nutraceuticals in fruit- and vegetable-containing products consumed with them. There is, however, potential for them to also raise the bioavailability of undesirable substances found in these products, such as pesticides. In this research, we studied the impact of excipient nanoemulsions on the bioaccessibility of pesticide-treated tomatoes. We hypothesized that the propensity for nanoemulsions to raise pesticide bioaccessibility would depend on the polarity of the pesticide molecules. Bendiocarb, parathion, and chlorpyrifos were therefore selected because they have Log P values of 1.7, 3.8, and 5.3, respectively. Nanoemulsions with different oil contents (0%, 4%, and 8%) were fabricated to study their impact on pesticide uptake. In the absence of oil, the bioaccessibility increased with increasing pesticide polarity (decreasing Log P): bendiocarb (92.9%) > parathion (16.4%) > chlorpyrifos (2.8%). Bendiocarb bioaccessibility did not depend on the oil content of the nanoemulsions, which was attributed to its relatively high water-solubility. Conversely, the bioaccessibility of the more hydrophobic pesticides (parathion and chlorpyrifos) increased with increasing oil content. For instance, for chlorpyrifos, the bioaccessibility was 2.8%, 47.0%, and 70.7% at 0%, 4%, and 8% oil content, respectively. Our findings have repercussions for the utilization of nanoemulsions as excipient foods in products that may have high levels of undesirable non-polar substances, such as pesticides.

Transformation and Speciation Analysis of Silver Nanoparticles of Dietary Supplement in Simulated Human Gastrointestinal Tract.

Knowledge of the physicochemical properties of ingestible silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is essential for assessing their bioavailability, bioactivity, and potential health risks. The gastrointestinal fate of AgNPs and silver ions from a commercial dietary supplement was therefore investigated using a simulated human GIT. In the mouth, no dissolution or aggregation of AgNPs occurred, which was attributed to the neutral pH and the formation of biomolecular corona, while the silver ions formed complexes with biomolecules (Ag-biomolecule). In the stomach, aggregation of AgNPs did not occur, but extensive dissolution was observed due to the low pH and the presence of Cl-. In the fed state (after meal), 72% AgNPs (by mass) dissolved, with 74% silver ions forming Ag-biomolecule and 26% forming AgCl. In the fasted state (before meal), 76% AgNPs dissolved, with 82% silver ions forming Ag-biomolecule and 18% forming AgCl. A biomolecular corona around AgNPs, comprised of mucin with multiple sulfhydryl groups, inhibited aggregation and dissolution of AgNPs. In the small intestine, no further dissolution or aggregation of AgNPs occurred, while the silver ions existed only as Ag-biomolecule. These results provide useful information for assessing the bioavailability of ingestible AgNPs and their subsequently potential health risks, and for the safe design and utilization of AgNPs in biomedical applications.

PA-Net: A phase attention network fusing venous and arterial phase features of CT images for liver tumor segmentation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Liver cancer seriously threatens human health. In clinical diagnosis, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images provide important supplementary information for accurate liver tumor segmentation. However, most of the existing methods of liver tumor automatic segmentation focus only on single-phase image features. And the existing multi-modal methods have limited segmentation effect due to the redundancy of fusion features. In addition, the spatial misalignment of multi-phase images causes feature interference. METHODS: In this paper, we propose a phase attention network (PA-Net) to adequately aggregate multi-phase information of CT images and improve segmentation performance for liver tumors. Specifically, we design a PA module to generate attention weight maps voxel by voxel to efficiently fuse multi-phase CT images features to avoid feature redundancy. In order to solve the problem of feature interference in the multi-phase image segmentation task, we design a new learning strategy and prove its effectiveness experimentally. RESULTS: We conduct comparative experiments on the in-house clinical dataset and achieve the SOTA segmentation performance on multi-phase methods. In addition, our method has improved the mean dice score by 3.3% compared with the single-phase method based on nnUNet, and our learning strategy has improved the mean dice score by 1.51% compared with the ML strategy. CONCLUSION: The experimental results show that our method is superior to the existing multi-phase liver tumor segmentation method, and provides a scheme for dealing with missing modalities in multi-modal tasks. In addition, our proposed learning strategy makes more effective use of arterial phase image information and is proven to be the most effective in liver tumor segmentation tasks using thick-layer CT images. The source code is released on (https://github.com/Houjunfeng203934/PA-Net).

Enhancing the strength and toughness of polylactic acid-based composites through one-step co-deposition of active coating onto wood fiber.

A facial strategy of co-deposition is proposed to enhance the interfacial bonding in wood fiber (WF)/polylactic acid (PLA) composites. Dopamine or tannic acid (TA) was co-deposited with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) onto the WF surface to create active coatings. These coatings were formed through Michael addition and Schiff base reactions and effectively attached to the WF through a combination of hydrogen and covalent bonding. Such active coatings facilitated the connection between WF and PLA through both covalent bonds and physical entanglements, thereby enhancing the interfacial interactions and compatibility between the two components. The co-deposition of TA with APTES was found to be more effective than with dopamine, leading to a dramatic improvement in the tensile strength and elongation at break of the composites by 33.4 % and 185.9 %, respectively. This work offers a facile method to prepare high performance plant fiber reinforced PLA composites, thereby broadening the potential applications of PLA.

Effects of frying on the surface oil absorption of wheat, potato, and pea starches.

The effects of structural changes on surface oil absorption characteristics of wheat starch, pea starch and potato starch during frying under different water content (20%, 30%, 40%, 50%) were studied. Fried potato starch with a 40% water content exhibited the highest surface oil content. When the initial moisture content reached 30%, the scattering intensity of the crystal layer structure decreased for wheat and pea starches, while the scattering peak for potato starch completely disappeared. At 40% moisture content, the amorphous phase ratio values for fried potato, wheat and pea starches were 13.50%, 11.78% and 11.24%, respectively, and the nitrogen adsorption capacity of fried starch decreased in turn. These findings that the structure of potato starch was more susceptible to degradation compared to pea starch and wheat starch, resulting in higher surface oil absorbed by potato starch during frying process.

Fortification of Plant-Based Milk with Calcium May Reduce Vitamin D Bioaccessibility: An In Vitro Digestion Study.

Many plant-based milks lack key micronutrients found in bovine milk, such as calcium and vitamin D. In this study, we fortified almond milk with these two micronutrients and used a standardized gastrointestinal model to examine the impact of product formulation on their bioaccessibility. The impact of different forms (CaCl2 versus CaCO3) and concentrations (0, 1, or 2 g per 240 mL) of calcium on the physicochemical properties, lipid digestibility, and vitamin D bioaccessibility was examined. Soluble calcium (CaCl2) promoted particle aggregation by reducing the electrostatic repulsion, while colloidal calcium (CaCO3) did not because there were fewer free calcium ions. High levels of calcium (soluble or insoluble) reduced vitamin D bioaccessibility, which was attributed to insoluble calcium soap formation in the small intestine. Calcium bioaccessibility was higher for CaCO3 than CaCl2. These findings are useful for the development of nutritionally fortified plant-based milks with improved physicochemical and nutritional properties.

Food-Grade Titanium Dioxide Particles Decreased the Bioaccessibility of Vitamin D3 in the Simulated Human Gastrointestinal Tract.

Food-grade titanium dioxide (E171) particles, as a "whiteness" additive, are often co-ingested with lipid-rich foods. Therefore, we explored the impact of E171 on lipid digestion and vitamin D3 (VD3) bioaccessibility encapsulated within oil-in-water emulsions in a simulated human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) model. VD3 bioaccessibility significantly decreased from 80 to 74% when raising E171 from 0 to 0.5 wt %. The extent of lipid digestion was reduced by E171 addition in a dose-dependent manner. VD3 bioaccessibility was positively correlated with the final amount of free fatty acids (FFAs) produced by lipid digestion (R2 = 0.95), suggesting that the reduction in VD3 bioaccessibility was due to the inhibition of lipid digestion by E171. Further experiments showed that E171 interacted with lipase and calcium ions, thereby interfering with lipid digestion. The findings of this study enhance our understanding toward the potential impact of E171 on the nutritional attributes of foods for human digestion health.

Nanoemulsions: An emerging platform for increasing the efficacy of nutraceuticals in foods.

Both whole and processed foods contain numerous bioactive substances that improve human health and performance, including macronutrients, micronutrients, and nutraceuticals. Many of these substances are strongly hydrophobic and chemically labile, which can diminish their beneficial health effects, since only a small fraction of the ingested amount is actually absorbed and utilized by the body. In the gastrointestinal tract, the overall bioavailability of a hydrophobic substance is determined by its bioaccessibility, transformation, and absorption. The design of functional foods with enhanced biological activity depends on identifying the relative importance of these three different processes for specific bioactive substances, and then using this knowledge to optimize the nature of food matrices to boost bioavailability. In this review, we focus on the utilization of oil-in-water nanoemulsions for this purpose because their compositions, structures, and properties can be easily manipulated. Nanoemulsions can be used as delivery systems where the hydrophobic bioactive substances are loaded into the oil phase either before or after homogenization. Alternatively, they can be utilized as excipient systems. In this case, the bioactive substances are located within an existing food product (such as a fruit or vegetable), which is then consumed with a specially-designed excipient nanoemulsion (such as a sauce, dressing, or cream). Research has shown that for both delivery and excipient systems, the oral bioavailability of hydrophobic bioactives can be enhanced considerably in the presence of a nanoemulsion, provided its properties have been carefully designed. This review article outlines the principles of the design of nanoemulsion-based delivery and excipient systems for boosting the bioavailability of hydrophobic bioactive substances.

Impact of pesticide polarity and lipid phase dimensions on the bioaccessibility of pesticides in agricultural produce consumed with model fatty foods.

For most people, the pesticide residues found on agriculture products are the main source of pesticide exposure, which may adversely influence consumer health. The potential health hazard of residual pesticides depends on the nature of the foods they are consumed with. Studies with fat-soluble vitamins and nutraceuticals have shown that their bioaccessibility depends on food matrix composition and structure. We used an in vitro method to investigate the influence of the dimensions of the lipid phase in model fatty foods (emulsified or bulk oil) on the bioaccessibility of various pesticides. Three pesticides that differed in their oil-water partition coefficients were selected: bendiocarb (log P = 1.7), parathion (log P = 3.8), and chlorpyrifos (log P = 5.3). These pesticides were mixed with tomato puree to represent pesticide-treated agricultural products. Three model foods with different oil phase dimensions were used to represent different kinds of food product: small emulsions (d32 = 0.14 µm); large emulsions (d32 = 10 µm); and, bulk oil. Our results showed that the oil droplets underwent extensive changes as they passed through the simulated gastrointestinal tract due to changes in environmental conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, bile salts, and enzyme activities. The initial rate and final amount of lipid hydrolysis decreased with increasing lipid phase dimensions. Pesticide bioaccessibility depended on both the hydrophobicity of the pesticide and the dimensions of the co-ingested lipid droplets. The least hydrophobic pesticide (bendiocarb) had a high bioaccessibility (>95%) that did not depend on lipid phase dimensions. The more hydrophobic pesticides (parathion and chlorpyrifos) has a lower bioaccessibility that increased with decreasing lipid phase dimensions. Our results demonstrate the critical role that food structure plays on the potential uptake of pesticides from agricultural products, like fruits and vegetables.

Lotus seedpod proanthocyanidin-whey protein complexes: Impact on physical and chemical stability of ß-carotene-nanoemulsions.

The impact of lotus seedpod proanthocyanidin (LSPC) on the functional properties of ß-carotene-loaded whey-protein stabilized nanoemulsions was investigated. LSPC was selected because it is known to exhibit strong antioxidant activity, as well as having various health benefits. Physically stable nanoemulsions containing small anionic droplets (d < 0.15 µm; ζ = -27 mV) could be formed at pH 6.5 using whey protein-LSPC complexes as natural emulsifiers. The physical and chemical stabilities of the nanoemulsions were then measured when they were incubated at different pH values. LSPC addition promoted droplet aggregation at pH 4, but not at pH 3, 6.5, or 8, which was mainly attributed to its ability to reduce the electrostatic repulsion between the lipid droplets at pH 4. LSPC was shown to have stronger antioxidant activity than catechin and epicatechin. Our results show that the chemical stability of ß-carotene nanoemulsions could be considerably improved by adding LSPC. We believe that LSPC-whey protein complexes can be used as effective emulsifiers and antioxidants in nutraceutical-loaded nanoemulsions, which may be useful for developing more efficacious functional foods and beverages.

Impact of calcium levels on lipid digestion and nutraceutical bioaccessibility in nanoemulsion delivery systems studied using standardized INFOGEST digestion protocol.

Recently, the standardized in vitro digestion model ("INFOGEST method") used to evaluate the gastrointestinal fate of foods has been revised and updated (Brodkorb et al., 2019, Nat. Protoc., 2019, 14, 991-1014). Under fed state conditions, the calcium level used in this model is fixed and relatively low: 0.525 mM. In practice, the calcium concentration in the human gut depends on the nature of the food consumed and may vary from person-to-person. For this reason, we examined the impact of calcium concentration on the gastrointestinal fate of a model nutraceutical delivery system. The effect of calcium level (0.525-10 mM) on lipid digestion and ß-carotene bioaccessibility in corn oil-in-water nanoemulsion was investigated using the INFOGEST method. At all calcium levels, the lipids were fully digested, but this could only be established by carrying out a back titration (to pH 9) at the end of the small intestine phase. Conversely, the bioaccessibility of ß-carotene decreased with increasing calcium levels: from 65.5% at 0.525 mM Ca2+ to 23.7% at 10 mM Ca2+. This effect was attributed to the ability of the calcium ions to precipitate the ß-carotene-loaded mixed micelles by forming insoluble calcium soaps. The ability of calcium ions to reduce carotenoid bioaccessibility may have important nutritional implications. Our results show that the bioaccessibility of hydrophobic carotenoids measured using the INFOGEST method is highly dependent on the calcium levels employed, which may have important consequences for certain calcium-rich foods. Moreover, we have shown the importance of carrying out a back titration to accurately measure free fatty acid levels in the presence of low calcium levels.

Effect of pullulan on oil absorption and structural organization of native maize starch during frying.

The oil-absorption behavior of native maize starch (NMS) during frying was investigated in the presence or absence of pullulan (PUL) using a LF-NMR method. The morphology, long-range order, short-range order, and thermal properties of fried NMS-PUL mixtures were further evaluated using SEM, XRD, ATR-FTIR, and DSC, respectively. Pullulan addition significantly reduced the oil content of the fried starch samples: 0.395, 0.310, 0.274, and 0.257 g/g in NMS with addition of 0, 1, 3, and 5% PUL, respectively (p < 0.05). SEM analysis showed that the intact granular morphology of the starch granules was preserved upon addition of pullulan. The XRD, FTIR, and DSC results showed that pullulan protected both the short-range double helices and long-range crystalline structure of the granules during frying. As a result, fried NMS-PUL mixtures were denser than fried NMS, thus inhibiting oil absorption during frying. These results may have important implications for creating healthier reduced-fat fried food products.

Establishing the impact of food matrix effects on the bioaccessibility of nutraceuticals and pesticides using a standardized food model.

It is important to establish the impact of food matrix effects on the bioaccessibility of co-ingested substances, such as nutraceuticals, engineered nanomaterials, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. Recently, a standardized food model (SFM) representing a typical US diet has been developed to facilitate these investigations. This model consists of caseinate-stabilized fat droplets, free casein, pectin, starch, sucrose, and sodium chloride. The SFM was stable to creaming for 2 days, contained small particles (d ≈ 180 nm), and had a narrow particle size distribution. The SFM was mixed with pureed tomato that had been deliberately contaminated with chlorpyrifos (a hydrophobic pesticide). The resulting mixture was then exposed to an in vitro digestion model. The structural and physicochemical characteristics of the samples (microstructure, particle diameter, and surface potential) were determined after each GIT stage. Also, the bioaccessibility of both chlorpyrifos and lycopene (a hydrophobic nutraceutical) from the pesticide-contaminated tomatoes was determined after the final digestion process. For lycopene, the bioaccessibility was much lower for tomato alone (0.75%) than for tomato plus SFM (19.0%) (p < 0.05). For chlorpyrifos, the bioaccessibility was also appreciably lower for tomato alone (40.4%) than for tomato plus SFM (58.7%), but the effect was less dramatic (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that a standardized food matrix impacts the bioaccessibility of hydrophobic bioactives in fresh produce by an amount that depends on the nature of the bioactive agent. The SFM developed here may therefore be useful for screening the potential impact of food matrix effects on the bioaccessibility of ingested bioactives and other substances.

Nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for testing nutraceutical efficacy using Caenorhabditis elegans: Demonstration of curcumin bioaccumulation and body-fat reduction.

The genome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans shares many similarities with that of humans and so it is widely used as a model in pharmaceutical and nutritional studies. C. elegans has a small mouth and therefore very fine lipid particles are required to orally deliver hydrophobic nutraceuticals. In this study, a nanoemulsion-based delivery system was developed to deliver curcumin to C. elegans. Nanoemulsion were fabricated with different mean particle diameters (d32 = 150 nm and 300 nm), lipid types (Medium chain triglyceride, corn, and fish oil), and emulsifier types (Tween 80 and whey protein). The auto-fluorescence intensity of curcumin was used as an indicator of curcumin accumulation in C. elegans. The structure and composition of nanoemulsions had a significant influence on curcumin bioaccumulation in C. elegans. Curcumin bioaccumulation increased with increasing droplet size, was found to be higher in nanoemulsion containing corn oil compared with those containing fish oil or MCT, and was higher for droplets coated by whey protein than by Tween 80. The nematodes treated with curcumin-loaded nanoemulsions showed significantly reduced fat accumulation compared to the control group. This study could provide useful information to widen the application of C. elegans in research involving lipophilic compounds.

In situ monitoring of lipid droplet release from biopolymer microgels under simulated gastric conditions using magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy.

Functional foods are being designed to breakdown in the human gut in a controlled fashion so as to regulate blood nutrient profiles, hormone release, energy intake, and bioavailability. Biopolymer microgels, small spherical beads made from proteins and/or polysaccharides, are a promising tool that can be used to modulate the gastrointestinal behavior of food components. In this study, lipid droplets were loaded into microgels fabricated from either alginate or carrageenan using an injection-gelation method. The lipid-loaded microgels were then incubated in simulated gastric juices and the impact of biopolymer type on the release of the lipid droplets was observed. Optical microscopy and turbidity measurements showed that lipid droplet release occurred more rapidly for the carrageenan microgels, which was attributed to their partial disruption in the gastric fluids. In contrast, lipid droplet release was relatively slow from the alginate microgels because they remained intact. We also showed that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be used for in situ monitoring of carrageenan microgel disruption and lipid droplet release under simulated stomach conditions. This method was based on quantifying the local lipid levels using T1 images and the magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A water-selected VIBE sequence was optimized for obtaining the T1 images and a stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) sequence was selected for obtaining the MR spectra. The MRI method may be particularly useful for in vivo studies of the behavior of filled microgels.

Fabrication of plant-based vitamin D3-fortified nanoemulsions: influence of carrier oil type on vitamin bioaccessibility.

The influence of carrier oil type (corn, fish, or flaxseed oil) on the production, stability, and simulated gastrointestinal behavior of vitamin-fortified nanoemulsions was studied. The nanoemulsions were formulated using pea protein as an emulsifier since there is increasing interest in substituting artificial and animal-based food ingredients with natural plant-based alternatives. Lipid digestion and vitamin D3 bioaccessibility were measured when the nanoemulsions were subjected to a three-stage in vitro gastrointestinal tract: oral, gastric, and small intestinal. The majority of all three lipids were digested within the first few minutes in the simulated small intestine, with the corn oil nanoemulsions being digested faster than the fish or flaxseed oils. Moreover, a greater fraction of triglycerides were digested by the end of the small intestine for the corn oil than for the fish and flaxseed oils. For the different carrier oils, vitamin bioaccessibility was ranked: corn oil > flaxseed oil ≈ fish oil. These results suggest that monounsaturated-rich oils (such as corn oil) are better for encapsulating and delivering vitamin D3 than polyunsaturated-rich ones (such as flaxseed or fish oil). The insights gained here may aid in the formulation of more efficacious vitamin-fortified foods and beverages from plant-derived ingredients.