Jorge Moreno

Supplementation with apple enriched with L‐arginine may improve metabolic control and survival rate in alloxan‐induced diabetic rats

Supplementation with L-arginine or fresh food with high content of this amino acid is associated with favorable effects in the metabolic control of diabetes. We aimed to determine whether supplementation with apples enriched with L-arginine offer additional benefits compared to L-arginine by itself in a preclinical study of diabetes. This study combines food-engineer technologies with in vivo and in vitro analysis. In vitro experiments show that cells derived from non-diabetic animals and exposed to high glucose (25 mM, 12 H) and cells isolated from alloxan-induced diabetic animals exhibited a reduction (∼50%) in the L-arginine uptake. This effect was reverted by L-arginine pretreatment (12 H) in both the normal and diabetes-derived cells. In preclinical studies, normoglycemic (n = 25) and diabetic groups (n = 50) were divided into subgroups that received either L-arginine (375 mg/kg per 10 days) or apple enriched with L-arginine or vehicle (control). In a preliminary analysis, supplementation with L-arginine by itself (50%) or apple enriched with L-arginine (100%) improve survival rate in the diabetic group compared to control (0%) at the end of the follow up (17 days). This phenomenon was associated with a partial but sustained high plasma level of L-arginine, as well as plasma concentration of nitrites and insulin in the L-arginine or apple + L-arginine groups after supplementation. Apple + L-arginine supplementation in diabetic animals induced the highest and longest effects in the level of these three markers among the studied groups. Therefore, apple enriched by L-arginine offers more benefits than L-arginine by itself in this preclinical study.

Apple snack enriched with L-arginine using vacuum impregnation/ohmic heating technology

Modern life has created a high demand for functional food, and in this context, emerging technologies such as vacuum impregnation and ohmic heating have been applied to generate functional foods. The aim of this research was to enrich the content of the semi-essential amino acid L-arginine in apple cubes using vacuum impregnation, conventional heating, and ohmic heating. Additionally, combined vacuum impregnation/conventional heating and vacuum impregnation/ohmic heating treatments were evaluated. The above treatments were applied at 30, 40 and 50  ℃ and combined with air-drying at 40 ℃ in order to obtain an apple snack rich in L-arginine. Both the impregnation kinetics of L-arginine and sample color were evaluated. The impregnated samples created using vacuum impregnation/ohmic heating at 50 ℃ presented a high content of L-arginine, an effect attributed primarily to electropermeabilization. Overall, vacuum impregnation/ohmic heating treatment at 50 ℃, followed by drying at 40 ℃, was the best process for obtaining an apple snack rich in L-arginine.

Food Technology Approaches for Improvement of Organoleptic Properties Through Preservation and Enrichment of Bioactive Compounds

Abstract Fresh foods of different origins are valuable products that nature provides and that humans through diverse technologies and processes transform for the convenience and overall comfort required by modern life. Consumers are demanding processed foods that meet more requirements, such as that they are rich in bioactive compounds that can help in different ways to promote health, but also that they include attractive organoleptic property. Bioactive compounds are very popular among consumers, and they are widely distributed in nature, highlighting the polyphenols, vitamins, and probiotic microorganisms. There are innovative technologies for preservation and/or enrichment of bioactive compounds in a food matrix, such as freeze concentration, encapsulation, osmotic dehydration, vacuum impregnation, and ohmic heating. The industrial application of these innovative technologies should be considered for maintaining the organoleptic properties of foods because in addition to their expected health benefits they must generate organoleptically food products that are appealing to consumers in texture, flavor, and aroma profile.

l-Arginine-Enriched Apples and Diabetic Control

Functional foods are aliments that are thought to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease, beyond their basic nutritional functions, which could be produced by adding new ingredients or more of existing ingredients using food engineering techniques. In this regard, increasing health consciousness worldwide has been one of the most stimulating factors for rapid global growth of the functional food industry (Hasler, J Am Coll Nutr 19:499S–506S, 2000). Then, development of functional food products is a growing research niche worldwide.