Label-Free Fried Starchy Matrix: Investigation by Harmonic Generation Microscopy.

An innovative methodology based on non-destructive observation by using harmonic generation microscopy is proposed for detection and location of starch granules and oil in a fried starchy matrix and topography analysis of food products. Specific fluorescent probes were used to label the main biochemical components of the starchy fried matrix, namely starch and oil. Fluorescence of starch and oil respectively stained with Safranin O and Nile red was observed from non-linear microscopy. By using sequential scanning and specific emission filters, it was possible to merge fluorescence and harmonic generation signals. Second harmonic generation (SHG) generated by starch granules was superposed with safranin fluorescence, whereas third harmonic generation (THG), not restricted to the superposition with Nile red fluorescent signal, was used to investigate the topography of the fried product. By these experiments, starch granule mapping and topography of the starchy fried product were obtained without any destructive preparation of the sample. This label-free approach using harmonic generation microscopy is a very promising methodology for microstructure investigation of a large panel of starchy food products.

Impact of cell wall non-cellulosic and cellulosic polymers on the mechanical properties of flax fibre bundles.

Fibre bundles are groups of elementary fibres glued together thanks to the middle lamella, and are the main fraction in plant fibre composites. In this study, relationship between the mechanical properties of flax fibre bundles, chemical composition and cellulose structure were investigated. To do so, a sequential biopolymer extraction was implemented. Fibre bundles were first depectinated by oxalate extraction, and then the hemicelluloses were extracted by LiCl/dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and KOH. The oxalate extract consisted of homogalacturonans and type I rhamnogalacturonans, while the LiCl extract was composed mainly of glucomannans and the KOH extract of xyloglucans. The KOH stage resulted in the appearance of cellulose II in flax bundles. The extraction of pectin and hemicelluloses led to the disappearance of the middle lamella concomitant with a decrease in the tensile Young's modulus and maximum strength. Finally, the fibre bundle composition, ultrastructure and mechanical properties are discussed together in view of the thin middle lamella.

Impact of electrostatic potential on microcapsule-formation and physicochemical analysis of surface structure: Implications for therapeutic cell-microencapsulation.

Cell-encapsulation is used for preventing therapeutic cells from being rejected by the host. The technology to encapsulate cells in immunoprotective biomaterials, such as alginate, commonly involves application of an electrostatic droplet generator for reproducible manufacturing droplets of similar size and with similar surface properties. As many factors influencing droplet formation are still unknown, we investigated the impact of several parameters and fitted them to equations to make procedures more reproducible and allow optimal control of capsule size and properties. We demonstrate that droplet size is dependent on an interplay between the critical electric potential (Uc,), the needle size, and the distance between the needle and the gelation bath, and that it can be predicted with the equations proposed. The droplet formation was meticulously studied and followed by a high-speed camera. The X-ray photoelectron analysis demonstrated optimal gelation and substitution of sodium with calcium on alginate surfaces while the atomic force microscopy analysis demonstrated a low but considerable variation in surface roughness and low surface stiffness. Our study shows the importance of documenting critical parameters to guarantee reproducible manufacturing of beads with constant and adequate size and preventing batch-to-batch variations.

Effect of innovative microwave assisted freezing (MAF) on the quality attributes of apples and potatoes.

This study considered the effect of low energy microwave assisted freezing (MAF) on freezing time and quality attributes (microstructure, texture, drip loss and colour) of apple and potato. MAF of apples and potatoes was performed by applying constant microwave (MW) power (167 W/kg) and pulsed MW power (500 and 667 W/kg with 10 s pulse width and 20 s pulse interval resulting in an average power of 167 and 222 W/kg) during the freezing process. The temperature profile was monitored during the freezing process, and the microstructure was examined using X-ray micro-tomography and cryo-SEM. Other quality parameters such as texture, drip loss and colour were evaluated with thawed samples. It appeared that the freezing time was not affected by the MAF process. It is the first time that a MAF process is used for freezing plant-based products and showed that the application of microwaves during freezing process caused less freeze damage than the control condition.

Assessment of freeze damage in fruits and vegetables.

Freezing is an efficient and widely used method of food preservation. However, it can also cause irreversible damages at cellular level which in turn degrade the overall quality of the frozen food products. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative methods and technologies that will be able to evaluate with accuracy the freeze damage are of great importance. This review paper provides a comprehensive study of the methods that have been used to evaluate the freeze damage in fruits and vegetables. Further than the principles and the applications of those methods, the advantages and the limitations are also being discussed.

Salt reduction in sheeted dough: A successful technological approach.

The challenge of reducing the salt content while maintaining shelf life, stability and acceptability of the products is major for the food industry. In the present study, we implemented processing adjustments to reduce salt content while maintaining the machinability and the saltiness perception of sheeted dough: the homogeneous distribution of a layer of encapsulated salt grains on the dough during the laminating process. During sheeting, for an imposed deformation of 0.67, the final strain remained unchanged around 0.50 for salt reduction below 50%, and then, increased significantly up to 0.53 for a dough without salt. This increase is, in fine, positive regarding the rolling process since the decrease of salt content induces less shrinkage of dough downstream, which is the main feature to be controlled in the process. Moreover, the final strain was negatively correlated to the resistance to extension measured with a texture analyzer, therefore providing a method to evaluate the machinability of the dough. From these results, a salt reduction of 25% was achieved by holding 50% of the salt in the dough recipe to maintain the dough properties and saving 25% as salt grains to create high-salted areas that would enhance the saltiness perception of the dough. The distributor mounted above the rollers of the mill proved to be able to distribute evenly salt grains at a calculated step of the rolling out process. An innovative method based on RX micro-tomography allowed to follow the salt dissolving and to demonstrate the capability of the coatings to delay the salt dissolving and consequently the diffusion of salt within the dough piece. Finally, a ranking test on the salted perception of different samples having either an even distribution of encapsulated salt grains, a single layer of salt grains or a homogeneous distribution of salt, demonstrated that increasing the saltiness perception in salt-reduced food product could be achieved by a technological approach.

Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses of d/d histocompatible pigs against classical swine fever (CSF) virus.

A better understanding of cell-mediated immune responses to classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is essential for the future development of improved vaccines. We analyzed the generation of cell-mediated and humoral immune responses in d/d histocompatible pigs following CSFV infection or vaccination. Viral infection induced high T cell responses with high primary and secondary CTL activity correlated with high IFN-gamma production, whereas vaccination with a live vaccine followed by infection mainly induced neutralizing antibody but low cell-mediated responses. Moreover, high IgG1 response was associated with high IFN-gamma response following infection whereas a weak IFN-gamma response was related to a good IgG2 response but a low IgG1 production. These data could reflect Th1/Th2-like balance of immune responses depending upon immunization protocols, which has not yet been described in the pig. T-cell responses to CSFV were evidenced by CSFV-specific CD25 upregulation on CD4-CD8+, but not on CD4+CD8- cells, which further illustrated the importance of CTL responses after infection. Our results indicated that generation of cell-mediated immune responses was much higher following intranasal/oral CSFV infection than after intramuscular vaccination, which implies that the capacity of new CSFV vaccines to induce higher T-cell responses should be considered.