Ylenia Riciputi

Role of cereal type and processing in whole grain in vivo protection from oxidative stress.

The reduced risk of chronic diseases related to whole grain consumption is in part attributed to their high antioxidant content. Many studies have been performed on the in vitro antioxidant capacity of cereals, but in vivo studies are necessary. We have evaluated and compared the effect of whole grain durum wheat bread and whole grain Kamut khorasan bread on the oxidative status in rats. Two different bread-making processes were used for whole grain Kamut khorasan, sourdough and bakers yeast. After 7 weeks on the experimental diets rats were divided into two subgroups, one receiving an oxidative stress by doxorubicin injection. Our results evidenced both wheat durum and Kamut khorasan as good sources of antioxidants, and a lower oxidative state in rats fed the cereal-based diets. Furthermore, Kamut khorasan bread fed animals had a better response to stress than wheat durum fed, especially when a sourdough bread was supplied. Although further studies are needed, data herein reported suggest whole grains, particularly whole ancient grains, as a safe and convenient way of increasing antioxidant protection.

Phenolic Compounds in the Potato and Its Byproducts: An Overview

The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a tuber that is largely used for food and is a source of different bioactive compounds such as starch, dietary fiber, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and phenolic compounds. Phenolic compounds are synthetized by the potato plant as a protection response from bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects. Several works showed that these potato compounds exhibited health-promoting effects in humans. However, the use of the potato in the food industry submits this vegetable to different processes that can alter the phenolic content. Moreover, many of these compounds with high bioactivity are located in the potato’s skin, and so are eliminated as waste. In this review the most recent articles dealing with phenolic compounds in the potato and potato byproducts, along with the effects of harvesting, post-harvest, and technological processes, have been reviewed. Briefly, the phenolic composition, main extraction, and determination methods have been described. In addition, the “alternative” food uses and healthy properties of potato phenolic compounds have been addressed.

Determination of free and bound phenolic compounds in soy isoflavone concentrate using a PFP fused core column.

In the last years, the consumption of soy-based foods has increased due to the health benefits related to soy bioactives like phenolic compounds. Thus, in the present study, a new chromatographic method using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (RP-HPLC/DAD) was developed using a fused core pentafluorophenyl (PFP) column. The established method allowed the determination of twenty-one free phenolic compounds and eleven bound phenolics in a soy isoflavone concentrate. The method was validated in terms of precision and recovery. Intra and inter-day precision were less than 5% (% RSD) and the recovery was between 97.4% and 103.6%. Limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged between 0.093 and 0.443 μg/mL. Because of that, PFP stationary phase can be easily applied for routine determination of phenolic compounds in soy based foods.

Dietary fiber and flavan-3-ols in shortbread biscuits enriched with barley flours co-products

The coarse fraction obtained by air classification of barley flour, rich in dietary fiber and flavan-3-ols, was utilized to develop functional biscuits. The flavan-3-ol content, antioxidant activity and oxidative stability of biscuits were measured during storage under retail conditions for 1 year. The replacement of 60% (w/w) refined wheat flour with barley coarse fraction increased the ash, fiber and flavan-3-ol contents significantly. Biscuit samples enriched with barley coarse fraction had a significantly higher amount of fiber compared with the control sample (six times higher). The β-glucan content in enriched samples was 15 times higher than control samples. The flavan-3-ol loss in biscuits after baking was about 67%. The initial content of flavan-3-ols increased from 0.6 to 4.3 mg/100 g in biscuits formulated with barley coarse fraction and showed improved antioxidant properties. Lipid oxidation increased during the shelf-life; the enriched biscuit showed the higher lipid oxidation status, but the level reached during the shelf-life was lower than the limit of acceptance reported for bakery products and, for this reason, does not compromise the safety.

Influence of drying temperatures on the quality of pasta formulated with different egg products

The effect of egg products and drying temperatures on dried egg pasta quality has been considered. Two diagrams of temperature and three egg products were used to develop dried egg pasta. Analyses of furosine and color indexes have been carried out on pasta samples to evaluate the impact of ingredients and drying temperatures on pasta quality. The results confirmed that high drying temperatures caused higher nutritional losses compared with low drying temperatures; in fact, these samples showed a furosine content from 3.3 to 4.7 times higher than the other ones. In addition, the cholesterol oxidation increased 1.6–2 times when high temperature was applied. The only exception has been noticed on pasta formulated with eggs from hens bred with organic method; in fact, the higher tocopherols amounts in these egg products compared with egg products from conventional breeding limited the cholesterol oxidation.

Phenolic composition as measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and biological properties of Tunisian barley

ABSTRACT In this work, phenolic composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of selected Tunisian barley varieties were studied. Swihli barley exhibited the highest total phenolic content and the strongest antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis revealed significant qualitative and quantitative differences in phenolic composition among the different varieties. Procyanidin B3 and catechin were the most abundant. Pearson’s correlation test revealed significant correlations between the antioxidant activities of barley extracts and both hydroferuloyl glucose and catechin-3-glucose.

Fermented Nut-Based Vegan Food: Characterization of a Home made Product and Scale-Up to an Industrial Pilot-Scale Production: Set up of fermented nut-based vegan food…

Because of the impossibility to consume food of animal origin, vegan consumers are looking for substitutes that could enrich their diet. Among many substitutes, fermented nut products are made from different nut types and obtained after soaking, grinding, and fermentation. Although other fermented vegetable products have been deeply investigated, there are few data about the fermentative processes of nut-based products and the microbial consortia able to colonize these products are not yet studied. This study characterized a hand-made vegan product obtained from cashew nut. Lactic acid bacteria responsible for fermentation were identified, revealing a succession of hetero- and homo-fermentative species during process. Successively, some lactic acid bacteria isolates from the home-made vegan product were used for a pilot-scale fermentation. The products obtained were characterized and showed features similar to the home-made one, although the microbiological hazards have been prevented through proper and rapid acidification, enhancing their safety features. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Spontaneous fermented products are valuable sources of microorganisms that can be used in many food processes as starter cultures. The lactic acid bacteria isolated in this research can be exploited by industries to develop new foods and therefore to enter new markets. The use of selected starter cultures guarantees good organoleptic characteristics and food safety (no growth of pathogens).

Establishment of ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from industrial potato by-products using response surface methodology

Potato processing generates large amounts of by-products, which include potato peels and the outer layers of flesh, which contain phenolic compounds. The purpose of this study was to establish an extraction method for phenolic compounds from industrial potato by-products by using response surface methodology (RSM). Box-Behnken design (BBD) was performed to optimize the extraction conditions of phenolic compounds considering different extraction temperature, ratios of ethanol/water, time of extraction and sample/solvent ratio. The optimum extraction conditions were obtained with ethanol/water 55/45 (v/v) by ultrasound bath during 35 min at 35 °C and 1/10 sample/solvent ratio. The best conditions were applied to determine the phenolic content in five potato by-products. The analyses by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS showed that chlorogenic acid accounted for a 49.3-61% of the total phenolic compounds. Positive Pearson correlations between HPLC data and antioxidant activity confirmed that the phenolic compounds had significant antioxidant properties.

How Lactobacillus plantarum shapes its transcriptome in response to contrasting habitats: Shaping of L. plantarum transcriptome

Triplets of Lactobacullus plantarum strains were isolated from nine contrasting habitats. Without any passage through other culture media, isolation and cultivation were on model media that strictly reproduced the chemical and physical conditions and stressors of the habitats of origin. Here, we demonstrated how L. plantarum regulates and shapes its transcriptome in response to contrasting habitats. Firstly, multivariate clustering analysis of transcriptional data (RNA-Seq), complemented with metabolomics and phenomics, grouped the strains according to the habitats of origin. Subsequently, selected strains from each habitat switched to repeated cultivation on MRS medium and transcriptomes homogenized into a unique cluster. Adaptation to this common medium mainly relied on activation of genes for phage- and prophage-related proteins and transposases. Finally, the comparison of growth across model media and with respect to MRS medium showed that 44% of the overall 3112 gene transcripts changed depending on the specific habitat. Regulation and shaping of transcriptomes mainly concerned carbohydrate acquisition, pyruvate catabolism, proteolytic system and amino acid, lipid and inorganic ion transport and metabolism, with contrasting responses for contrasting habitats. Pathways reconstruction demonstrated how the large genome size of L. plantarum imparts transcriptome and metabolic flexibility as the basic mechanism for a nomadic lifestyle.