Are healthiness and pleasure dimensions perceived similarly by people with food addiction in Brazil? A case study using holistic sensory methodologies.

The relationship between the consumption of hyper-palatable ultra-processed foods and the process of addiction gains notoriety due to its relationship with obesity. Food addiction is a complex phenomenon intrinsically related to the individual's behavioral, emotional, and subjective aspects. Therefore, using classical approaches to sensory science may be insufficient to understand better the individual's sensory experience with hyper-palatable foods. In this context, sensory and consumer science techniques with holistic approaches have been aimed at accessing more subjective consumer perceptions. This study used the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS 2.0) to investigate the prevalence of food addiction and the Structured Projective Mapping (S-MP) and Sorting techniques to verify how individuals with and without food addiction perceive and understand different types of food. The prevalence of food addiction was 21.77% (n = 59 out of 271) and was associated with a higher BMI but not with sociodemographic aspects. Projective Mapping (RV = 0.937) and Sorting (RV = 0.934) indicated that perception in relation to attributes such as health and pleasure was similar for all investigated foods in individuals with or without food addiction. The presence of addictive eating behavior does not seem to be related to the way individuals perceive foods from different categories, for example, minimally or highly processed and hyper-palatable foods.

Prebiotic frozen dessert processed with water-soluble extract of rice byproduct: Vegan and nonvegan consumers perception using preferred attribute elicitation methodology and acceptance.

The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions (using the preferred attribute elicitation [PAE] methodology) and acceptance of frozen dessert processed with water-soluble extract of rice byproduct and added with prebiotic components (long-chain inulin, medium-chain inulin, oligofructose, or polydextrose, 5 g/100 g) by vegan or nonvegan consumers. Most of the elicited attributes (9 out of 13 attributes, yellow color, brightness, creamy appearance, passion fruit aroma, sweet taste, passion fruit flavor, acid taste, sour taste, and creamy texture) were considered important for the characterization and/or acceptance of the frozen dessert formulations by both groups (vegan and nonvegan), but the order of importance was different between the groups. The sensory profile (Rv = 0.48, P = 0.03 in MFA) of the frozen dessert formulations was similar between vegan and nonvegan groups, and polydextrose contributed to increase firmness/consistency of the frozen dessert, while long-chain inulin contributed to the increase in the creaminess of the products. Finally, oligofructose and polydextrose could reduce the sour taste of the products. The consumers gave scores from 6 to 8 in a 9-point hedonic scale for the products, suggesting suitable acceptance. However, vegan consumers gave lower scores for the same products. In conclusion, PAE methodology can be used to compare the perception of different consumer groups, and vegan and nonvegan consumers have a similar perception about prebiotic frozen dessert processed with water-soluble extract of rice byproduct. Furthermore, the frozen dessert developed had suitable consumer acceptance, although vegan gave lower scores than nonvegan consumers. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This is the first study involving the development of prebiotic frozen dessert from water-soluble extract of rice byproduct and application of PAE to assess the sensory perception of vegan and nonvegan consumers. The results are important for the industry as they indicate that the PAE methodology can be used to characterize food products, compare the perception of different consumer groups, and elicit attributes that are important for the products, suggesting that universal marketing strategies could be used and that the developed frozen dessert could serve both vegan consumers and those on conventional diets.

Polyphenols of jabuticaba [Myrciaria jaboticaba (Vell.) O.Berg] seeds incorporated in a yogurt model exert antioxidant activity and modulate gut microbiota of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon cancer in rats.

The chemical composition, antioxidant activity (AA), cytotoxic activity, antihemolytic effects, and enzyme inhibition (EI) of lyophilized jabuticaba (Myrciaria jaboticaba) seed extract (LJE) was studied. The main compounds found were castalagin, vescalagin, procyanidin A2, and ellagic acid. LJE was more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells, meaning relative toxicological safety. This cytotoxic effect can be attributed to the pro-oxidant effect observed in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation assay. LJE inhibited α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and ACE-I activities and protected human erythrocytes from hemolysis. LJE was incorporated into yogurts at different concentrations and the total phenolic content, AA, and EI increased in a dose-dependent manner. LJE-containing yogurt presented 86% sensory acceptance. The yogurt was administered to Wistar rats bearing cancer and it modulated the gut bacterial microbiota, having a prebiotic effect. LJE is a potential functional ingredient for food companies looking for TPC, AA, and prebiotic effect in vivo.

Polyphenols, the new frontiers of prebiotics.

There is a growing interest in the identification of molecules capable to promote health and with a concurrent potential for technological applications. Prebiotics are functional ingredients naturally occurring in some plant and animal foods that since many decades stimulated considerable attention from the pharmaceutical and food industries due to their positive health effects. Together the well-known biomolecules with ascertained prebiotic effect, in last year new molecules were finally recognized as prebiotics, so capable to improve the health of an organism, also through the positive effect exerted on host microbiota. Among the so-called prebiotics, a special mention should be given to polyphenols, probably the most important, or at least among the most important secondary metabolites produced by the vegetal kingdom. This short chapter wants to emphasize polyphenols and, after briefly describing the individual microbiome, to illustrate how polyphenols can, through their influence on the microbiome, have a positive effect on the health of the individual in general, and on some pathologies in particular, for which the role of a bad status of the individual microbiome has been definitively established.

Antioxidants-rich ice cream containing herbal extracts and fructooligossaccharides: manufacture, functional and sensory properties.

This work aimed to optimize an aqueous extract rich in phenolic compounds and potential functional properties made of Ilex paraguariensis, Melissa officinalis, and Cymbopogon citratus. The lyophilized extract was used for the development of an ice cream. Total phenolics, FRAP, DPPH, Folin-Ciocalteu's reducing capacity, and total reducing capacity of different combinations of herbal extracts were tested and modeled using response surface methodology. Simultaneous optimisation was employed to maximize the bioactive compounds in the extract and the lyophilized optimum combination was added to ice cream. The lyophilized extract contained quercetin-3-rutinoside, hesperidin, isoquercetin, caffeic acid, and 5,7-dihydroxyflavone. The optimised extract, which showed antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and antioxidant activity using in vitro protocols, increased total phenolics and antioxidant activity in comparison to the control ice cream. The ice cream presented a sensory acceptance index of 83%. After 72 days of storage (-18 °C), total phenolics and antioxidant activity significantly decreased.

Analytical optimization of a phenolic-rich herbal extract and supplementation in fermented milk containing sweet potato pulp.

The aims of the present study were to optimize and characterize the phenolic composition of a herbal extract composed of green mate (Ilex paraguariensis), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and to propose the addition of this polyphenol-rich extract to fermented milks (FM) with/without sweet potato pulp (Ipomoea batatas). Proximate composition, pH, acidity, instrumental texture profile, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (AA) of all formulations were measured, and sensory attributes were also investigated. The addition of a lyophilized extract (1g 100g-1) containing 87.5% clove and 12.5% green mate increased the AA and TPC, while FM with added sweet potato pulp had the best sensory acceptance. The TPC and total reducing capacity had a slight change during 21days of storage. The data showed that herbal extracts and sweet potato pulp may be used to develop new dairy foods with potential functional properties.