Integrating the latest biological advances in the key steps of a food packaging life cycle.

This literature review provides a focus on the potential of integrating the latest scientific and technological advances in the biological field to improve the status of the key steps of a food packaging life cycle: production, usage, post-usage, and long-term fate. A case study of such multi-biological food packaging is demonstrated based on the use of PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) polymer, a microbiologically produced polymer from non-food renewable resources, activated by the use of bioactive components to enhance its usage benefits by reducing food loss and waste, displaying potential for reusability, compostability as post-usage, and finally, being ultimately biodegradable in most common natural conditions to considerably reduce the negative impact that persistent plastics have on the environment. We discuss how designing safe and efficient multi "bio" food packaging implies finding a compromise between sometimes contradictory functional properties. For example, active antimicrobials help preserve food but can hamper the ultimate biodegradation rate of the polymer. This review presents such antagonisms as well as techniques (e.g., coatings, nanoencapsulation) and tools (e.g., release kinetic) that can help design optimized, safe, and efficient active food packaging.

Modelling of the nutritional behaviour of cowpea seeds during soaking, germination and cooking process.

Two modelling approaches previously developed and describing separately the diffusion-reaction of folates and alpha-galactosides during cowpea seed soaking, germination and cooking processes were combined here to simulate the effect of some key processing parameters on the nutritional value of cowpea seeds. The simulator was upgraded, considering thermal-pH dependency of both diffusivities and reactivities of folates and alpha-galactosides together with water-to-seed ratio and starch gelatinization. The simulations showed that soaking and cooking processes were deleterious for folates whereas germination promoted the production of folates while reducing alpha-galactosides concentration. This study suggests that a long germination (96 h), followed by a short cooking seems to be optimal both in terms of nutritional value and degree of cooking.

Modelling folates reaction kinetics during cowpea seed germination in comparison with soaking.

Folate is a fundamental vitamin for metabolism in plants and humans. A modelling approach has been developed to characterize the reactivity of folates in cowpea seeds during germination at 30 °C, using a water-to-seed ratio of 1:1 (w/w). For this purpose, the concentrations of folic acid, 10-formylfolic acid, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, 5-formyltetrahydrofolate and tetrahydrofolate were determined in seeds during germination times up to 96 h. Two reaction models were sequentially built and adjusted to experimental data to describe changes in concentration in cowpea seed during two germination phases: before 14 h and after 48 h. Results showed intense enzymatic interconversion of all folate vitamers into 5-methyltetrahydrofolate before 14 h of germination and high enzymatic production of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, 5-formyltetrahydrofolate and tetrahydrofolate after 48 h of germination. This study suggests that a long germination process could be more beneficial than soaking to increase the production of bioavailable folates within the seed for human consumption.

Impact of soaking process on the microstructure of cowpea seeds in relation to solid losses and water absorption.

A cytohistological investigation was performed to better understand the structural alterations of cowpea seeds in relation with soaking. Thin sections obtained from seeds soaked at 30 °C, 60 °C and 95 °C were treated to specifically visualize starch, proteins, cellulose and pectin. Micropyle behavior as well as water uptake and dry matter loss were also monitored. A Soaking at 30 °C induced slight alteration of parenchymatous cells of cotyledons, whereas drastic alterations were observed at 60 °C and intense alterations at 95 °C. All these structural modifications of cells could explain losses of nutrients and antinutritional factors at the highest soaking temperature (95 °C). The size of the apertures in the micropyle sections varied depending on both soaking temperature and time. At 30 °C and 60 °C, the micropyle aperture enabled notable water uptake by seeds. At 95 °C, water was entirely taken up through the testa. These results show that models describing nutrients losses and water uptake should account for these structure changes during soaking of legumes.

Kinetic study of enzymatic α-galactoside hydrolysis in cowpea seeds.

The endogenous alpha-galactosidase activity of cowpea seeds was characterized and modelled assuming Michaelian behavior. The aim is to use the resulting knowledge to optimize alpha-galactoside degradation during the soaking-cooking process. In this study, the alpha-galactosidase enzyme from Wankoun cowpea was extracted and its enzymatic activity was analyzed as a function of temperature, pH and the presence of some inhibitors. Enzymatic activity was optimal around 35 °C and a pH of 5.8. Activation and inactivation energy was evaluated at 50 ±â€¯3 and 103 ±â€¯9 kJ.mol-1, respectively. The strongest inhibitor was galactose with an inhibition constant KI of 0.28 ±â€¯0.03 mM. Incubation of the enzyme extract with alpha-galactosides revealed a 10-h lag phase in the early stages that could be due to low pH, the action of inhibitors including galactose and the biosynthesis of alpha-galactosides. After the lag phase, the degradation of each alpha-galactoside occurred without the appearance of any intermediary product. The degradation of alpha-galactosides was observed with a Km of 1.7 ±â€¯0.3 mM for raffinose; 3.6 ±â€¯0.6 mM for stachyose and 15.9 ±â€¯0.1 mM for verbascose. A long soaking step around 35 °C is suggested to maximize the alpha-galactosides enzymatic degradation.

Multi-response modeling of reaction-diffusion to explain alpha-galactoside behavior during the soaking-cooking process in cowpea.

A modelling approach was developed to better understand the behavior of the flatulence-causing oligosaccharides in cowpea seeds during isothermal water soaking-cooking process. Concentrations of verbascose, stachyose and raffinose were measured both in the seed and in the soaking water during the process (T=30, 60 and 95°C). A reaction-diffusion model was built for the three considered alpha-galactosides both in the seed and in the soaking water, together with a model of water transport in the seed. The model reproduced coupled reaction-diffusion of alpha-galactosides during the soaking-cooking process with a good fit. Produced, diffused and degraded alpha-galactoside fractions were identified by performing a mass balance. During soaking at 30°C, degradation predominated (maximum found for raffinose degradation rate constant of 3.22×10-4s-1) whereas diffusion predominated at higher temperatures (95°C).