Danielle Branta Lopes

Bioconversion of Isoflavones into Bioactive Equol: State of the Art

BACKGROUND Soy isoflavones, an important class of phytoestrogens, are suggested to be responsible for a number of biological activities associated with health benefits, including defense against various chronic diseases, including breast and prostate cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and osteoporosis, and they may alleviate the symptoms of menopause. METHODS However, current researches (including patents) have shown that the clinical efficacy of these phenolic compounds is related to the ability of an individual to biotransform isoflavones into equol, which is a metabolite of daidzein formed exclusively by the intestinal microbiota. RESULTS This biologically active metabolite presents greater effects than other isoflavones; however, only about 30-50 % of people have a microbiota that is able to produce equol from dietary daidzein. Concern has recently grown about applications to improve the production of this metabolite. CONCLUSION This paper summarizes the metabolism of equol, its production, and clinical implications.

A new approach for flavor and aroma encapsulation

Aroma compounds exhibit an extreme importance in many fields because they are essential additives in consumer products, such as foods, medicines, perfumes, and cosmetics. However, this ingredient is labile and volatile, and is easily lost during manufacturing, storage, and use. Demand for new technologies in the application of flavors and fragrances to ensure better functionalities rises every year, and the encapsulation method is one of the most used to improve these properties. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the novelties and the most used technologies for flavor encapsulation and its applications, presenting the advantages and disadvantages and critically assessing its use, especially in food systems, highlighting potential future developments in this rapidly growing area.

Agro-Industrial Residues and Microbial Enzymes

Abstract Bioconversion of renewable lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels and high value-added products is nowadays a field of much attention and promise. Furthermore, lignin can be used for the smooth generation of polymers using laccase or a laccase-mediator system. Food industries provide other important uses of residues, such as underutilized fish, and by-products from the fishing industries for the production of bioactive peptides using microbial proteases. On the other hand, fat wastes, such as waste from cooking oil, are very interesting substrates for the production of industrially relevant compounds, mainly biodiesel, using lipases from different microorganisms. Again, phenolic compounds are very important because of their biological activities, presenting impressive antioxidant activity. More interestingly, they can be obtained using enzymes from different microorganisms, which are capable of producing antioxidative phenolics from different wastes. Although microbial enzymes are highly effective tools for modifying agro-industrial residues in generating high value-added products, the use of native enzymes are frequently infeasible in large scales. Therefore, different techniques of molecular biology are necessary to surpass these limitations. These techniques include the use of expression models that are more feasible for the industrial production of enzymes, and genetic and protein engineering focusing on the overexpression of the enzymes to have the desired enzymes with improved characteristics, such as better enzymatic activity, stability, and selectivity.

Development of Functional Food From Enzyme Technology: A Review

Abstract In recent years, there has been a consensus that functional foods play a key role in reducing disease and improving health. The development of these food products using biotechnology processes has become a promising area of research in academia and industry. Protein sources and associated by-products can be used to produce bioactive hydrolysates and peptides with potential use as functional food ingredients. Resistant starches that improve colonic health and microbiota can be produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of starch sources. Lipases can be used for the production of certain fatty acids as flavoring and antioxidant esters. Enzymes such as tannase, phytase, and l -asparaginase have certain specificities for the production of functional foods. Tannase is used for bioconversion of tannin-rich materials into value-added products. l -Asparaginase is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of l -asparagine, not allowing the reaction of reducing sugars with this amino acid for the generation of acrylamide. Phytase has been found increasingly interesting for use in the processing and manufacturing of food, particularly because the decline in food phytate results in enhancement of mineral bioavailability. Accordingly, this chapter will present a review of recent studies from the technical literature that explored different enzymes for the production of functional foods.

Chapter 1 – Microbial Production of Added-Value Ingredients: State of the Art

Abstract Microbial production is considered as a potential process for the biosynthesis of several natural ingredients, such as flavors, esters, vitamins, phenolic compounds, and so on; fungi are the most widely used for this purpose. Advances in microbial enzyme technology offer considerable opportunities for the development of energy-saving technologies for the bioconversion of added-value products. Biocatalysis is also an advantageous alternative to catalyze a number of regio- and stereoselective reactions, which is not achieved by classical chemical synthesis. The use of isolated enzymes becomes preferred to the use of microorganisms when there are limitations concerning the permeability of the substrate into the cell or if undesired side reactions occur. In this chapter we describe some relevant aspects of the production of various ingredients, such as flavors, esters, vitamins, and so on, by microorganisms and their enzymes used in food and pharmaceutical industries.

The Importance of Microbial and Enzymatic Bioconversions of Isoflavones in Bioactive Compounds

Abstract Isoflavones, an important class of flavonoids, act as phytoestrogens due to structural similarity with 17β-estradiol hormone. They are proposed to produce several biological activities related to health benefits, like improvement to menopausal symptoms and protection against several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, osteoporosis, and breast and prostate cancer. However, current researches have shown that the clinical efficacy of these phenolic compounds is related to their bioconversion in flavonoid aglycones and, further, in an important bioactive metabolite called equol, which has higher biological effects than other isoflavones. Only about 30%–50% of humans possess a microbiota capable of producing equol from dietary daidzein, which instigates the use of microbial and enzymatic systems for the bioconversion in vitro. In recent years, interest has grown in applications to improve equol production. This chapter revises and discusses the relevance of the bioconversion of isoflavones and their production, bioavailability, and clinical implications.