Pharmaceutical Food Science: Search for Bio-Functional Molecules Obtained from Natural Resources to Prevent and Ameliorate Lifestyle Diseases.

In this review, our resent pharmaceutical food science research for bio-functional molecules obtained from natural resources that contribute to i) suppression of postprandial blood glucose elevation and/or improvement of glucose tolerance and ii) reduction of visceral fat accumulation and improvement of lipid metabolism were summarized. Based on studies using MONOTORI science, salacinol (1), neokotalanol (4), and trans-tiliroside (20) have been approved or notified by the Consumer Affairs Agency in Japan as functional substances in food with health claims, Food for Specified Health Use and Food with Functional Claims.

Mild Fractionation for More Sustainable Food Ingredients.

With the rising problems of food shortages, energy costs, and raw materials, the food industry must reduce its environmental impact. We present an overview of more resource-efficient processes to produce food ingredients, describing their environmental impact and the functional properties obtained. Extensive wet processing yields high purities but also has the highest environmental impact, mainly due to heating for protein precipitation and dehydration. Milder wet alternatives exclude, for example, low pH-driven separation and are based on salt precipitation or water only. Drying steps are omitted during dry fractionation using air classification or electrostatic separation. Benefits of milder methods are enhanced functional properties. Therefore, fractionation and formulation should be focused on the desired functionality instead of purity. Environmental impact is also strongly reduced by milder refining. Antinutritional factors and off-flavors remain challenges in more mildly produced ingredients. The benefits of less refining motivate the increasing trend toward mildly refined ingredients.

Potential of Carvacrol and Thymol in Reducing Biofilm Formation on Technical Surfaces.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and stainless steel (SS) are commonly used in medicine and food production technologies. During contact with microorganisms on the surface of these materials, a microbial biofilm is formed. The biofilm structure is difficult to remove and promotes the development of pathogenic bacteria. For this reason, the inhibition of biofilm formation in medical and food production environments is very important. For this purpose, five naturally occurring compounds were used for antimicrobial screening tests. The two with the best antimicrobial properties were chosen to inhibit the biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. After 3 days of exposure, thymol reduced the amount of biofilm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa within the range of 70-77% and 52-75% for Staphylococcus aureus. Carvacrol inhibited the formation of biofilms by up to 74-88% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and up to 86-100% for Staphylococcus aureus. Those phenols decreased the enzyme activity of the biofilm by up to 40-100%. After 10 days of exposure to thymol, biofilm formation was reduced by 80-100% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and by about 79-100% for Staphylococcus aureus. Carvacrol reduced the amount of biofilm by up to 91-100% for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and up to 95-100% for Staphylococcus aureus.

Marine Biotechnology: Challenges and Development Market Trends for the Enhancement of Biotic Resources in Industrial Pharmaceutical and Food Applications. A Statistical Analysis of Scientific Literature and Business Models.

Biotechnology is an essential tool for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources, although the full development of their potential is complicated by a series of cognitive and technological limitations. Thanks to an innovative systematic approach that combines the meta-analysis of 620 articles produced worldwide with 29 high TRL (Technology Readiness Level) European funded projects, the study provides an assessment of the growth prospects of blue biotechnologies, with a focus on pharmaceutical and food applications, and the most promising technologies to overcome the main challenges in the commercialization of marine products. The results show a positive development trend, with publications more than doubled from 2010 (36) to 2019 (70). Biochemical and molecular characterization, with 150 studies, is the most widely used technology. However, the emerging technologies in basic research are omics technologies, pharmacological analysis and bioinformatics, which have doubled the number of publications in the last five years. On the other hand, technologies for optimizing the conditions of cultivation, harvesting and extraction are central to most business models with immediate commercial exploitation (65% of high-TRL selected projects), especially in food and nutraceutical applications. This research offers a starting point for future research to overcome all those obstacles that restrict the marketing of products derived from organisms.

[Dynamics of innovations in food technologies: from specialization to personalization].

Dynamically changing global trends in the field of innovative foods in recent years are aimed at the development of technologies that ensure the formation of segments of new types of products, positioned as healthy products. Scientific directions of research and development in this area, retrospectively related to the development of nutrition science, are focused on solving an interdisciplinary set of tasks to create new types of foods, the distinctive features of which are the specified compositions and properties that determine the health benefits (functional foods) and directed physiological effectiveness (specialized foods for preventive and therapeutic nutrition). Characteristics of the composition of a specific specialized food are formed in connection with its intended purpose on the basis of medico-biological requirements taking into account specific features of nutrition of the population in total, and its separate groups or individual. Depending on the mentioned specifics, the development of specialized foods provides for different levels of determining human needs: from energy consumption to the metabolome. Taking into account these features, the development tasks, methods of proving the effectiveness and conditions for using specialized foods in order to achieve maximum effect are determined. In studies of prophylactic or therapeutic foods, the subject of evaluating the effectiveness of a specialized product is the clinical effect, so innovative research in this category of products is associated with the creation of a universal approach to the development, use and evaluation of the effectiveness of biologically active substances and containing them specialized foods for the correction of metabolic disorders. The vector of innovative development of technologies for the production of specialized foods is focused today on the direction of personalized nutrition. The basis of scientific justification of the distinctive features of the compositions and properties, as well as technological know-how of the production of personalized foods, is the information about the metabolome directly related to the biological functions of the body.

Innovative processing strategies and technologies to obtain hydrocolloids from macroalgae for food applications.

The macroalgal hydrocolloid industry is a rapidly growing industry with an annual growth in the global production of 2-3 %. Hydrocolloids from macroalgae are mainly in the form of polysaccharides with other nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Due to its potential industrial applications, macroalgae have been used as raw materials for hydrocolloids extraction. Compared to the conventional extraction methods, emerging innovative assisted extraction technologies (e.g., Ultrasound/Microwave assisted extraction) have been developed to maximise the extraction yields, efficiency and thereby, maintaining sustainability along the process. These novel techniques are considered as clean and green strategies, with a potential for a large-scale production; thus, avoiding or reducing the use of chemicals. However, more research is required to establish their mechanism of action in order to finally implement them at industrial level. This paper reviews the most relevant strategies and technologies involved in the production of hydrocolloids from macroalgae.

Future foods: a manifesto for research priorities in structural design of foods.

A number of major challenges facing modern society are related to the food supply. As the global population grows, it will be critical to feed everyone without damaging the environment. Advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, structural design, and artificial intelligence are providing farmers and food manufacturers will new tools to address these problems. More and more people are migrating from rural to urban environments, leading to a change in their dietary habits, especially increasing consumption of animal-based products and highly-processed foods. Animal-based foods lead to more greenhouse gas production, land use, water use, and pollution than plant-based ones. Moreover, many animal-based and highly-processed foods have adverse effects on human health and wellbeing. Consumers are therefore being encouraged to consume more plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, and legumes. Many people, however, do not have the time, money, or inclination to prepare foods from fresh produce. Consequently, there is a need for the food industry to create a new generation of processed foods that are desirable, tasty, inexpensive, and convenient, but that are also healthy and sustainable. This article highlights some of the main food-related challenges faced by modern society and how scientists are developing innovative technologies to address them.

Biopolymer-Based Nanotechnology Approaches To Deliver Bioactive Compounds for Food Applications: A Perspective on the Past, Present, and Future.

Food nanotechnology is an emerging and rapidly evolving field that encompasses an extremely broad range of disciplines and has found various applications in different food sectors. The objective of this perspective is to update the current knowledge on the nanotechnology-based approaches to prepare delivery vehicles for bioactive compounds. Research progress on the development of nanoparticles made from food biopolymers (i.e., protein and polysaccharide) is particularly highlighted. In addition, two types of most recently developed nanoscale delivery systems, i.e., protein-polysaccharide complex and lipid-biopolymer hybrid nanoparticles, are introduced, and their relevant applications are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future research directions on developing safe, effective, and edible nanoscale delivery vehicles for food applications are provided.

Integrating epidemiological and economic models to identify the cost of foodborne diseases.

Despite food technology advancements, food safety policies and alert systems, foodborne diseases are still a relevant concern for consumers and public health authorities, with great impacts on the economy and the society. Evaluating the cost of foodborne diseases may support the design and the implementation of policy interventions. This paper proposes a simple method for cost identification of foodborne diseases, accessible to researchers and practitioners who are not specialist in economics. The method is based on the assumption that epidemiological and economic models can be integrated to understand how the burden of disease determines costs in a wider socio-economic perspective. Systems thinking and interdisciplinary approach are the pivotal conceptual tools of the method. Systems thinking allows for the understanding of the complex relationships working among the elementary units of a system (e.g. wildlife, bred animals, consumers, environment, agro-food industry) in the occurrence of a health problem such foodborne diseases. Complex systemic relationships usually cross the traditional boundaries of scientific knowledge (human medicine, veterinary science, economics) and sectoral institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministry of health, ministry of agriculture). For these reasons more scientific disciplines, institutional competences and social bodies need to work together to face complex health problems, in an interdisciplinary framework. The first step of the proposed method is the identification of the potential cost of the disease. To this aim, the authors first focus on the links between epidemiological and economic models, based on the fact that foodborne diseases, likewise other diseases, hit people's and animals' aptitude to produce utility and goods for the society (e.g. wellbeing, revenue, safe food). These utility losses are real economic costs. Then they show how simple economic models, such as the food supply chain, can help understand the way costs spread across the economic sectors and the society. It should be underlined that the authors adopt already existing and well rooted scientific tools, focusing in particular that their integration in an interdisciplinary framework can effectively contribute to increase the understanding of complex health problems in a viable way.

State-of-the-art strategies and applied perspectives of enzyme biocatalysis in food sector - current status and future trends.

With the recent progress in biotechnology, a wide variety of novel enzymes with unique physicochemical properties and diverse applications has been introduced, and new application list continues to extend in the future. Enzymes obtained from microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, yeast are widely applied in numerous food formulations for intensifying their texture and taste. Owing to several desirable characteristics such as easy, cost-efficient and stable production, microbial-derived enzymes are preferred source in contrast to animals or plants. Enzymatic processes have a considerable impact in controlling the characteristics such as (1) physiochemical properties, (2) rheological functionalities, (3) facile process as compared to the chemical-based processing, (4) no or minimal consumption of harsh chemicals, (5) overall cost-effective ratio, (6) sensory and flavor qualities, and (7) intensifying the stability, shelf life and overall quality of the product, etc. in the food industry. Also, enzyme-catalyzed processing has also been designed for new food applications such as extraction of bioactive compounds, nutrient-rich and texture improved foods production, and eliminating food safety hazards. Herein, we reviewed recent applications of food-processing enzymes and highlighted promising technologies to diversify their application range in food industries. Immobilization technology enabled biocatalysts to be used cost-effectively due to reusability with negligible or no activity loss. Integrated progress in novel enzyme discovery, and recombinant DNA technology, as well as protein engineering and bioprocess engineering strategies, are believed to rapidly propagate biocatalysis at industrial-scale food processing or green and sustainable chemical manufacturing.

Prospective Study of Microbial Colorants under the Focus of Patent Documents.

BACKGROUND: Colorant-producing microorganisms are quite common in nature. These biomolecules present many biological activities such as antitumoral, antimicrobial and antioxidant, in addition to the various nuances of color, making them of special technological importance to the industrial sectors. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to conduct a technological mapping in the patent, at European patent Office (EPO), in order to evaluate the global panorama of the use of microbial colorants. METHODS: The experimental design was acquired by the keyword-driven approach through the advanced search in the Espacenet database European Patent Office (EPO). The keywords selected were bacteria or fungi* or yeast or algae or microorganism* but not plant* and pigment* or color* or colorant* or dye* and the International Patent Classification code, C09B61, for prospecting of interest. RESULTS: There has been a linear increase in patents developed in the last 20 years, with Japan as the largest depositor in the area. The companies Dainippon Ink and Chemicals and Ajinomoto, both being Japanese, are the largest depositors with 20% of all patents. Among the microorganisms, the filamentous fungi appeared in the first place with 32% of documents and the fungi of the genus Monascus were the most frequently used. CONCLUSION: The use of microbial colorants has been growing among industries, mainly in food sectors, due to the growing demand for products of natural origin. Thus, the increase in research and technological development in the area of microbial colorants can become an economically viable and promising strategy for the various industrial sectors.

The nanotech potential of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) in food technology: A review.

New trends in food are emerging in response to consumer awareness of the relationship between food and health, which has triggered the need to generate new alternatives that meet the expectations of the market. Revolutionary fields such as nanotechnology have been used for the encapsulation of nutritional ingredients and have great potential for the management of food additives derived from fruits and plant species. Turmeric, a spice that has been used as a dyeing agent, is recognized for its properties in Ayurveda medicine. This article aims to provide an overview of the characteristics of turmeric as an ingredient for the food industry, including its properties as a coloring agent, antioxidant, and functional ingredient. This article also highlights the potential of nanotechnology to enhance these properties of turmeric and increase the possibilities for the application of its components, such as cellulose and starch, in the development of nanostructures for food development.

Trends in foam mat drying of foods: Special emphasis on hybrid foam mat drying technology.

Dehydration of foods is not simply a preservation technique in the present era, rather an important food processing operation which has many benefits in addition to enhancement of shelf life of foods. There are various methods of drying foods and most of them are unique in their own way. Liquid foods can be dried in many ways and foam mat drying is one such method which is being researched frequently for its potential use at commercial level. Foam mat drying has got almost all the features to be a commercially successful method of drying. It is a simple technique and has shown good results in drying of liquid foods with low glass transition temperature. Hybridization of this method has shown the results that make this technology look even more promising than the conventional one. Studies on freeze drying, vacuum drying and microwave drying of foam have indicated encouraging results with respect to drying kinetics and product quality. This review presents an overview of foam mat drying of foods. The procedure and technology of this method of drying have been summarized with an intention to make them easy to understand. The emphasis is, however, on the hybrid foam mat drying technology.

Two Nonthermal Technologies for Food Safety and Quality-Ultrasound and High Pressure Homogenization: Effects on Microorganisms, Advances, and Possibilities: A Review.

Some nonthermal technologies have gained special interest as alternative approaches to thermal treatments. High pressure homogenization (HPH) and ultrasound (US) are two of the most promising approaches. They rely upon two different modes of action, although they share some mechanisms or ways of actions (mechanic burden against cells, cavitation and micronization, primary targets being the cell wall and the membrane, temperature and pressure playing important roles for their antimicrobial potential, and their effect on cells can be either positive or negative). HPH is generally used in milk and dairy products to break lipid micelles, whereas US is used for mixing and/or to obtain active compounds of food. HPH and US have been tested on pathogens and spoilers with different effects; thus, the main goal of this article is to describe how US and HPH act on biological systems, with a focus on antimicrobial activity, mode of action, positive effects, and equipment. The article is composed of three main parts: (i) an overview of US and HPH, with a focus on some results covered by other reviews (mode of action toward microorganisms and effect on enzymes) and some new data (positive effect and modulation of metabolism); (ii) a tentative approach for a comparative resistance of microorganisms; and (iii) future perspectives.

Cell-cultured meat: Lessons from GMO adoption and resistance.

This article discusses the choices and strategies that can hasten or delay the adoption of novel food technologies. We start by examining how genetically-modified food became an object of controversy in the United States and Europe. Then, we present lessons suggested by the history of GMOs for cell-cultured meat adoption. The history of GMOs suggests at least eleven concrete lessons for cultured meat adoption that remain under-discussed in the literature. This paper's findings diverge in several ways from received wisdom on cultured meat adoption. We argue, among other things, that genetic engineering firms understood their work to be humanitarian and environmentally-friendly and so were unprepared for popular backlash, that technology adoption is more readily affected by consumer activism when buyers in a supply chain exert more pressure on sellers than the reverse, and that focusing on the positive aspects of a technology is more successful for encouraging its adoption than responding to negative perceptions.