Quantitative study of starch swelling capacity during gelatinization with an efficient automatic segmentation methodology

Development and characterization of an emulgel based on a snail slime useful for dermatological applications

Snail slime is an interesting material for effective dermatological use (e.g. wounds). Its properties are stricly connected to the origin. In this paper a snail slime, deriving from the species Helix aspersa Muller and obtained from a company, was deeply characterized and then properly formulated. The slime, obtained by Donatella Veroni method, was firstly submitted to NMR analysis in order to evaluate the chemical composition. The main molecules found are glycolate and allantoin, well known for their activities in wound healing promotion. In vitro experiments performed on keratinocytes, revealed the snail slime ability to promote cellular well-being. Moreover, the microbiological analysis showed high activity against many strains involved in wounds infections such as gram+ (e.g. S. aureus, S. pyogenes), gram- (e.g. P. aeruginosa, E. coli) and the yeast C. albicans. The effect on skin elasticity was evaluated as well by the instrument Cutometer® dualMPA580. The snail slime was then formulated as hydrophilic gel, using a combination of corn starch and sodium hyaluronate as polymers, then used as external water phase of an O/W emulgel. The formulation is physically stable and easily spreadable and demonstrated antimicrobial activity as observed for slime alone, suggesting its suitability to be used for wound treatment.

A review of starch swelling behavior: Its mechanism, determination methods, influencing factors, and influence on food quality

Swelling behavior involves the process of starch granules absorbing enough water to swell and increase the viscosity of starch suspension under hydrothermal conditions, making it one of the important aspects in starch research. The changes that starch granules undergo during the swelling process are important factors in predicting their functional properties in food processing. However, the factors that affect starch swelling and how swelling, in turn, affects the texture and digestion characteristics of starch-based foods have not been systematically summarized. Compared to its long chains, the short chains of amylose easily interact with amylopectin chains to inhibit starch swelling. Generally, reducing the swelling of starch could increase the strength of the gel while limiting the accessibility of digestive enzymes to starch chains, resulting in a reduction in starch digestibility. This article aims to conduct a comprehensive review of the mechanism of starch swelling, its influencing factors, and the relationship between swelling and the pasting, gelling, and digestion characteristics of starch. The role of starch swelling in the edible quality and nutritional characteristics of starch-based foods is also discussed, and future research directions for starch swelling are proposed.