Emil Zlatić

Generation of Lactobacillus plantarum strains with improved potential to target gastrointestinal disorders related to sugar malabsorption

Malabsorption of dietary sugars is a common cause of gastrointestinal discomfort, affecting up to one in three people with debilitating symptoms, such as abdominal pain, osmotic diarrhoea, bloating and flatulence. Besides dietary interventions, it has been suggested that ingestion of lactobacilli may alleviate these symptoms. The objectives of this study were to generate strains with improved potential to ameliorate sugar malabsorption related gastrointestinal disorders. Initial selection was made from 183 natural isolates of lactic acid bacteria, on the basis of broad sugar fermentation ability, absence of gas production, gastrointestinal survival and susceptibility to important medical antimicrobials. Two strains of L. plantarum (KR6 and M5) exhibited favourable characteristics for all criteria, and were further optimised through random mutagenesis and selection approaches. Ultraviolet light (UV) exposure resulted in mutants characterized by better survival (for 1.9 log and 1.4 log) in gastrointestinal conditions. Subsequent exposure to ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) provided mutants with greater tolerance to glucose induced catabolic repression. UV and UV-EMS mutants of L. plantarum M5 showed improved adhesion ability. As a result of this optimisation, L. plantarum MP2026 and L. plantarum MP2420 have been identified as promising candidates for probiotics, intended for alleviation of gastrointestinal discomfort originating from sugar malabsorption.

Volatile compounds in Prošek dessert wines produced from white and red grapes.

Budic-Leto I., Humar I., Zdunic G., Hribar J., Zlatic E. (2015): Volatile compounds in Prosek dessert wines produced from white and red grapes. Czech J. Food Sci., 33: 354–360. Prosek dessert wines produced from dried grapes of two native Croatian varieties, one white and one red, had complex volatile compositions. Various categories of volatile compounds were identified using headspace solid-phase micro extraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sixty-one individual volatile compounds of Prosek were identified. Of these, nine compounds comprised over 95% of the total peak area of volatile aromas detected in Prosek: five esters and four alcohols. The remaining volatile compounds consisted of 11 alcohols, 11 esters, 10 terpenes, 8 aldehydes, 10 ketones, 4 acids, 1 lactone, and 1 norisoprenoide. Only 13 of the 61 aroma compounds showed significant differences between the varieties investigated. These results suggest that the charac teristic aroma of Prosek is very complex and determined predominantly by the unique process of the grape drying.

Volatile compounds of freeze-dried sour cherry puree affected by the addition of sugars

ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to determine the influence of the addition (5, 10, or 20 g/100 g) of different sugars (sucrose, maltose, or trehalose) prior to freeze-drying on the key volatile compounds of the sour cherry puree. The key volatile compounds of sour cherries were benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, and 2-hexenal. The results obtained for the samples with the addition of sugars were compared to the control sample, the sample without sugar addition. The control sample contained 3.92 mg/kg of benzyl alcohol, 856.61 µg/kg of benzaldehyde, and 15.58 µg/kg of 2-hexenal. Benzaldehyde, the compound described as the typical cherry volatile compound, was determined in the highest amount in the sample with the addition of 10 g/100 g of trehalose (937.51 µg/kg). The highest amount of 2-hexenal was determined in samples with the addition of 10 or 20 g/100 g of trehalose (17.45 and 18.96 µg/kg, respectively). All samples with the sugar addition had lower content of the benzyl alcohol than the control sample. Generally, samples with the addition of sucrose had the lowest amount of examined volatile compounds.

Disaccharides: Influence on Volatiles and Phenolics of Sour Cherry Juice

The food industry is continuously developing ingredients, processing methods and packaging materials to improve the quality of fruit products. The aim of this work was to study the effect of sugars, a common ingredient in the food industry, on phenolics and volatiles of sour cherry juice. Sucrose, trehalose and maltose chemical isomers were chosen for this investigation. All sugars influenced the evaluated parameters. Samples with maltose addition had lower, while samples with sucrose and trehalose addition had higher anthocyanin content than the control sample. Generally, trehalose had a higher positive effect on volatiles with the desired flavor note.

Volatile profile of sour cherry puree as affected by sucrose and trehalose

ABSTRACT In this study, effect of sugars (sucrose and trehalose) and their amount on the volatile profile of sour cherry puree was evaluated. Results were compared to sour cherry puree without addition of sugars. Volatiles amount depended on type and amount of sugar. This indicated that the sugars showed an effect on flavour profile. Volatiles with the ethereal, alcoholic flavour note were present in the highest amount in the puree while with the addition of sugars, amount of those volatiles was lower. Sweet, floral volatiles were determined in higher amount when sugars were added in comparison to puree. Addition of sucrose did not have significant impact on the volatiles with sweet flavour note, while with addition of trehalose lower amount of those compounds were determined than in puree. Sweet, fruity and fresh, green volatiles were determined in higher amount in samples with the addition of sugars, especially when trehalose was added. Addition of sugar did not have impact on pungent volatiles.