Steering protein and lipid digestibility by oleogelation with protein aerogels.

The aim of the present work was to assess the effect of an innovative oleogelation strategy, the aerogel-template approach, on protein and lipid digestibility. Whey protein isolate (WP) was converted into aerogel particles via supercritical CO2 drying. Oleogels were then prepared by absorption of sunflower (SO) or flaxseed (FLX) oil (80%, w/w) into the aerogel particle template and subjected to in vitro digestion. WP aerogel-templated oleogels showed a specific destructuring behaviour during digestion. Confocal micrographs clearly demonstrated that the original oleogel structure was lost at the gastric level, with the release of oil droplets smaller (D32 < 10 µm) than those observed in the case of the unstructured oils (D32 > 30 µm), stabilised by undigested aerogel proteins. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay confirmed that aerogelation reduced the gastric proteolysis of WP from nearly 100% to 70%. The digestion of the SO oleogel led to similar gastric protein digestibility. In contrast, in the case of the FLX oleogel, gastric proteolysis decreased to 40%, suggesting a role of the oil nature in steering WP aerogel digestion. In all cases, upon intestinal digestion aerogel proteins resulted completely hydrolysed. The lipolysis degree of SO (75%) and FLX (34%) oil in the oleogels was higher than that of the unstructured SO (66%) and FLX (24%) oils, due to the larger surface offered by smaller oil droplets to the action of intestinal lipases. This was confirmed by dynamic light scattering, showing a shift towards smaller size in the digestive micelle distribution of oleogels at the end of the intestinal phase. Oleogelation through the WP aerogel-template approach could be regarded as a strategy to steer lipid digestibility while also modulating the release of bioaccessible peptides.

Microemulsions as delivery systems of lemon oil and ß-carotene into beverages: stability test under different light conditions.

BACKGROUND: Microemulsions have been proposed as delivery systems for different lipophilic substances in transparent water-based systems. The chemical stability of the delivered compounds is a key factor to broaden the application of microemulsions in the food sector. The stability of a model beverage containing a microemulsion delivering ß-carotene and lemon oil was tested under increasing light intensity up to 6000 lx at 20 °C. RESULTS: The transparent microemulsion resulted physically stable during storage indicating that no coalescence phenomenon occurred. On the contrary, both colour and flavour of the microemulsion degraded as a consequence of limonene and ß-carotene oxidation. Kinetic data obtained at increasing light intensity were used to estimate the light dependence of beverage spoilage and the mathematical relationship obtained was used to predict spoilage rate under different light conditions. Finally, a shelf life predictive model was proposed. CONCLUSIONS: Transparent microemulsions can be successfully used to deliver flavoured oil and colourants into beverages. However, the photostability of the delivered compounds should be carefully studied to estimate product shelf life. To this aim, the availability of models predicting shelf life as a function of enlightening conditions could largely contribute to speed up the process. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of lipid physical state of palm derivatives on ß-carotene bleaching.

This research was addressed to study the effect of lipid physical state on bleaching kinetics of ß-carotene. To this aim, ß-carotene was added to palm oil and palm stearin and the samples were stored at increasing temperatures allowing different degree of crystallization. Phase transition properties of palm derivatives were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, whereas ß-carotene bleaching kinetics were followed by measuring color changes. Bleaching proceeded at comparable rate in palm oil and palm stearin containing systems stored at 20 and -18 °C, whereas the color changes showed a maximum rate at 4 °C in palm stearin samples and at -7 °C in palm oil systems. Arrhenius plot clearly highlighted deviations from the linearity underlining the crucial role of lipid physical properties in determining the bleaching rate. The location and the compartmentalization of ß-carotene in the fat lattice could affect its chemical stability.

Influence of hydroponic and soil cultivation on quality and shelf life of ready-to-eat lamb's lettuce (Valerianella locusta L. Laterr).

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the hydroponic floating system to cultivate leafy vegetables for ready-to-eat salads. It is reasonable that different growing systems could affect the quality and shelf life of these salads. RESULTS: The quality and shelf life of ready-to-eat lamb's lettuce grown in protected environment in soil plot or in soil-less system over hydroponic solution with or without the addition of 30 µmol L⁻¹ silicon were evaluated. Minimum effects were observed on colour, firmness and microbial counts. Hydroponic cultivation largely affected plant tissue hydration, leading to weight loss and structural modifications during refrigerated storage. The shelf life of lamb's lettuce was limited by the development of visually detectable unpleasant sensory properties. Shelf life, calculated by survival analysis of consumer acceptability data, resulted about 7 days for soil-cultivated salad and 2 days for the hydroponically grown ones. The addition of silicon to the hydroponic solution resulted in an interesting strategy to increase plant tissue yield and reduce nitrate accumulation. CONCLUSIONS: Although hydroponic cultivation may have critical consequences on product quality and shelf life, these disadvantages could be largely counterbalance by increased yield and a reduction of nitrate accumulation when cultivation is performed on nutritive solutions with supplemental addition of silicon.

Modeling the effect of water activity and storage temperature on chemical stability of coffee brews.

This work was addressed to study the chemical stability of coffee brew derivatives as a function of water activity (aw) and storage temperature. To this purpose, coffee brew was freeze-dried, equilibrated at increasing aw values, and stored for up to 10 months at different temperatures from -30 to 60 degrees C. The chemical stability of the samples was assessed by measuring H3O+ formation during storage. Independently of storage temperature, the rate of H3O+ formation was considerably low only when aw was reduced below 0.5 (94% w/w). Beyond this critical boundary, the rate increased, reaching a maximum value at ca. 0.8 aw (78% w/w). Further hydration up to the aw of the freshly prepared beverage significantly increased chemical stability. It was suggested that mechanisms other than lactones' hydrolysis, probably related to nonenzymatic browning pathways, could contribute to the observed increase in acidity during coffee staling. The temperature dependence of H3O+ formation was well-described by the Arrhenius equation in the entire aw range considered. However, aw affected the apparent activation energy and frequency factor. These effects were described by simple equations that were used to set up a modified Arrhenius equation. This model was validated by comparing experimental values, not used to generate the model, with those estimated by the model itself. The model allowed efficient prediction of the chemical stability of coffee derivatives on the basis of only the aw value and storage temperature.

Influence of crystallization on the oxidative stability of extra virgin olive oil.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) physical state on the kinetics of oxidative reactions. To this purpose, EVOO was stored at increasing temperatures from 3 to 60 degrees C and the oxidation was followed by measuring both primary and secondary oxidation products. Results highlighted that crystallization plays an important role in determining EVOO stability. Below the melting point, the oxidation rate was found to be higher than that expected on the basis of the Arrhenius equation. The observed deviation from the Arrhenius equation was attributed to the physicochemical changes occurring as a consequence of phase transitions. In particular, the increase in unsaturated triacylglycerol concentration and the decrease of polyphenol content in the liquid phase surrounding fat crystals were indicated as the main factors causing the deviation. By taking into account these changes it was possible to describe the temperature dependence of the oxidation rate in the entire range of temperatures considered. This model appears to be promising in the challenge to find mathematical models able to predict the stability and, hence, the shelf life of lipid-containing foods.