Recent advances in food products fortification with anthocyanins.

Anthocyanins are polyphenolic compounds belonging to the group of flavonoids in charge of providing red, purple, and blue colourations to different parts of trees and plants, such as leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, and stems. These substances have potential health benefits due to characteristics such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which could be leveraged in the food industry. However, the use and handling of anthocyanins are conditioned due to the low stability of these molecules. For this reason, the application of adequate extraction, purification and stabilization techniques is required for its subsequent management. In this regards, green extraction methods and novel stabilization techniques are of particular interest in the utilization of these biocompounds. This review provides in-depth information about the extraction, purification, and stabilization of anthocyanins from different plant sources. Additionally, this work highlights the potential use of anthocyanins in the food industry for the formulation of different fortified foods and beverages, which could have beneficial health effects. Green technologies, are a promising tool to recover extracts rich in anthocyanins from different vegetable matrices, including by-products. The extracts obtained can be easily used in the fortification of baked foods, dairy products, and different beverages.

Valorization of by-products from olive oil industry and added-value applications for innovative functional foods.

BACKGROUND: In the last years, the consumption of olive oil has experienced a sharp rise due to its organoleptic and healthy properties and with this the wastes and by-products derived from the olive production and the olive oil industry have also increased causing important environmental and economic issues. However, the high content in bioactive compounds of these wastes and by-products makes that its recovery is both a great challenge and an excellent opportunity for the olive oil sector. AIM OF THE REVIEW: This review encompasses the more outstanding aspects related to the advances achieved until date in the olive oil by-products valorisation and added-value applications for innovative functional foods. CONCLUSION: Taking into account the information reported in this manuscript, the development of a multiproduct biorefinery in cascade using eco-friendly technologies interchangable seems a suitable stratety to obtaining high added value compounds from olive oil by-products with applications in the field of innovative functional foods. In addition, this would allow an integral valorization of these residues enhancing the profitability of the olive oil industry. On the other hand, the biocompounds fom olive oil by-products have been described by their interesting bioactivities with beneficial properties for the consumers' health; therefore, their incorporation into the formulation of functional foods opens new possibilities in the field of innovative foods. Future perspective: Despite the studies descibed in the literature, more research on the healthy properties of the recovered compounds and their interactions with food components is key to allow their reintegration in the food chain and therefore, the removal of the olive oil by-products.

Value-Added Compound Recovery from Invasive Forest for Biofunctional Applications: Eucalyptus Species as a Case Study.

From ancient times, the medicinal properties of the different Eucalyptus species are well known. In fact, plants from this family have been used in folk medicine as antiseptics, and to treat different ailments of the upper respiratory tract such as sinus congestion, common cold, or influenza. Moreover, other biological activities were described for Eucalyptus species such as antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. In the last few decades, numerous investigations revealed that the compounds responsible for these properties are secondary metabolites that belonging to the group of phenolic compounds and are present in different parts of the plants such as leaves, bark, wood, fruits, and stumps. The increasing demand for natural compounds that can substitute synthetic antioxidants and the increase in resistance to traditional antibiotics have boosted the intense search for renewable natural sources containing substances with such bioactivities, as well as greener extraction technologies and avant-garde analytical methods for the identification of the target molecules. The literature data used in this paper were collected via Scopus (2001-2020) using the following search terms: Eucalyptus, extraction methods, phenolic compounds, and biological activities. This review collects the main studies related to the recovery of value-added compounds from different Eucalyptus species, as well as their biofunctional applications.

Bioactive packaging using antioxidant extracts for the prevention of microbial food-spoilage.

Bioactive food packaging is an innovative approach for the prevention of the growth of food-spoilage microorganisms. Four active extracts from agroindustrial subproducts (Eucalyptus wood, almond shells, corn cobs and grape pomace) with demonstrated antioxidant activity have been investigated for bestowing antimicrobial activity to bioactive packaging. To carry out this evaluation, the antioxidant extracts were tested against five food pathogenic bacteria, namely, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. The results obtained showed that all the tested extracts inhibited the growth of all five pathogenic bacteria. From the analysis of the minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs), the Eucalyptus wood extract was the most active, being necessary only 2% (v/v) to inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, whereas almond shells extract were less active requiring 4% (w/v) to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the extract from corn cobs was bactericidal against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at a concentration of 4% (w/v). After checking their antimicrobial activity, the antioxidant extracts have been incorporated into sodium alginate films and the maintenance of their antimicrobial properties was confirmed. This work showed that the antioxidant extracts from agroindustrial byproducts exhibited antimicrobial activity and were suitable for incorporation into edible films that could be used in bioactive packaging systems.

Evaluation of the prebiotic potential of arabinoxylans from brewer's spent grain.

Arabinoxylans (AX) consumption has been related to the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes, colorectal cancer and obesity. The beneficial health effects are conferred through gut microbiota modulation, and therefore, they have been proposed as potential slowly fermentable prebiotic candidates. As the mechanisms are not yet well understood, the prebiotic potential of AX from brewer's spent grain (BSG) has been investigated. Two types of AX from BSG (AX1 and AX2) of different length and branching averages were fermented with human faecal inocula and compared to fermented cultures containing a commercial prebiotic (fructooligosaccharide (FOS)) and cultures with no added carbohydrate (control). Results demonstrated that the AX were extensively metabolised after 48 h of fermentation. The pH decreased along fermentation and the lowest value was achieved in AX1 cultures. The production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) was higher in AX cultures than in cultures containing FOS and controls, with AX1 presenting the highest concentrations. The stimulatory effect of beneficial bacteria was higher in AX cultures, and AX2 presented the highest positive effect. Prebiotic potential of AX from BSG was confirmed by the production of SCFA and the modulation of gut microbiota, especially by the high increase in bifidobacteria populations.