Bioactive, Mineral and Antioxidative Properties of Gluten-Free Chicory Supplemented Snack: Impact of Processing Conditions.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of chicory root addition (20-40%) and extrusion conditions (moisture content from 16.3 to 22.5%, and screw speed from 500 to 900 rpm) on bioactive compounds content (inulin, sesquiterpene lactones, and polyphenols) of gluten-free rice snacks. Chicory root is considered a potential carrier of food bioactives, while extrusion may produce a wide range of functional snack products. The mineral profiles were determined in all of the obtained extrudates in terms of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu contents, while antioxidative activity was established through reducing capacity, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) tests. Chicory root addition contributed to the improvement of bioactive compounds and mineral contents, as well as antioxidative activities in all of the investigated extrudates in comparison to the pure-rice control sample. An increase in moisture content raised sesquiterpene lactones and minerals, while high screw speeds positively affected polyphenols content. The achieved results showed the important impact of the extrusion conditions on the investigated parameters and promoted chicory root as an attractive food ingredient in gluten-free snack products with high bioactive value.

Development of a Novel Rice-Based Snack Enriched with Chicory Root: Physicochemical and Sensory Properties.

A novel rice-based snack enriched with chicory root flour (CRF) was developed by twin-screw extrusion. Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is one of the promising medicinal plants for the development of innovative food and may be considered a functional food ingredient. Central composite design (CCD) was employed to generate snack formulations by varying feed moisture (M, 16.3-22.5%), screw speed (SS, 500-900 rpm) and CRF content (20-40%). The optimization according to artificial neural network modeling and a genetic algorithm was applied to define optimal process conditions (17.6% moisture, 820 rpm and 24.1% of CRF) for obtaining the product with the highest expansion (3.34), crispiness (3.22 × 10-3), volume (2040 m3), degree of gelatinization (69.70%) and good color properties. Bulk density (110.33 g/L), density (250 kg/m3), and hardness (98.74 N) resulted in low values for the optimal sample. The descriptive sensory analysis evaluated low hardness and bitterness, with high crispiness for the optimal extrudate. This study points to the possibility of a novel chicory enriched extrudate production with desirable physicochemical and sensory properties.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) as a food ingredient - Nutritional composition, bioactivity, safety, and health claims: A review.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a perennial herb from the Cichorium genus, Asteraceae family, and is worldwide cultivated. So far, chicory has been used mainly in animal feed, but also in several cases in the food industry: as salad, for teas and tea blends, for coffee supplementation, and as a source for the inulin production. Nowadays there is an increasing interest in chicory utilization for food production and supplementation. Some compounds present in chicory, such as polyphenols, inulin, oligofructose and sesquiterpene lactones may be considered as potential carriers of food functionality. This review describes nutritional, mineral and bioactive composition of the chicory plant and summarized the main biological activities associated with the presence of bioactive compounds in the different plant parts. Finally, the review explores possibilities of uses of chicory and its implementation in food products, with intention to design new functional foods.

Identification of biomarkers in hydrosoluble extracts from spelt and wheat cultivated in different production systems.

BACKGROUND: In the present paper, a method for differentiation between common and spelt wheat grown in different farming systems (biodynamic, ecological, integrated, conventional), based on biomarkers identified from aqueous flour extracts (nitrogen and 14 soluble carbohydrates) was employed. RESULTS: The identification and determination of soluble carbohydrate content were carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, with the UV spectrum generated by mass spectrometry for comparison with the WILEY database. Soluble carbohydrates were determined in the peak area between 21.92 and 43.63 min-1 retention time. The obtained data set was analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques. It was revealed that common wheat exerted a much more pronounced tendency than spelt wheat to be influenced by the farming system. CONCLUSION: This differentiation was particularly well visualized after subjecting the data set to principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). In the PCA graph, all spelt samples were positioned closer to the corresponding control sample, in contrast to the wheat samples, which were distributed over a huge area in the factor space. CA showed that the spelt samples grown under different farming systems were highly similar and grouped into one cluster. Common wheat samples cultivated under organic, biodynamic and integrated system were similar and represented the second cluster, whereas that cultivated under the conventional system was clearly separated from other samples. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Extraction methods of Amaranthus sp. grain oil isolation.

BACKGROUND: Amaranthus sp. is a fast-growing crop with well-known beneficial nutritional values (rich in protein, fat, dietary fiber, ash, and minerals, especially calcium and sodium, and containing a higher amount of lysine than conventional cereals). Amaranthus sp. is an underexploited plant source of squalene, a compound of high importance in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. RESULTS: This paper has examined the effects of the different extraction methods (Soxhlet, supercritical fluid and accelerated solvent extraction) on the oil and squalene yield of three genotypes of Amaranthus sp. grain. The highest yield of the extracted oil (78.1 g kg(-1) ) and squalene (4.7 g kg(-1) ) in grain was obtained by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) in genotype 16. Post hoc Tukey's HSD test at 95% confidence limit showed significant differences between observed samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used for assessing the effect of different genotypes and extraction methods on oil and squalene yield, and also the fatty acid composition profile. Using coupled PCA and CA of observed samples, possible directions for improving the quality of product can be realized. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that it is very important to choose both the right genotype and the right method of extraction for optimal oil and squalene yield. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Characterization of the liposoluble fraction of common wheat (Triticum aestivum) and spelt (T. aestivum ssp. spelta) flours using multivariate analysis.

BACKGROUND: In the present paper, a special method for derivatization of liposoluble extract of common wheat and spelt flours was employed which enables simultaneous detection of fatty acid and non-saponifiable lipid fractions. RESULTS: Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analytical data for both fractions were separately analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques to model classes of different common wheat and spelt cultivars. Cluster analysis was used, and the results obtained revealed that better discrimination of samples was achieved by analyzing the peak area after 16 min retention time (non-saponifiable lipids), rather than commonly used peak area between 12 and 16 min (fatty acid fraction), due to more distinctive positions of points in factor space, even though the distances between points for fatty acid fraction (12-16 min) were greater. Similar results were obtained by principal components analysis, where all wheat points almost coincided whereas spelt showed good discrimination. CONCLUSION: Comparison of chromatogram areas for non-saponifiable lipid fraction between common and spelt wheat showed a statistically high difference and hence has a potential for use in authenticity control.