From apple to applesauce: Processing effects on dietary fibres and cell wall polysaccharides

Use of optical absorption and scattering properties to monitor the change of chemical characteristics, particle structure and viscoelasticity during apple puree processing

This work explored the optical absorption (μa) and reduced scattering (μs') properties at 400-1050 nm (Vis-NIR) and 900-1650 nm (SWIR) of apple puree at different heating times to evaluate their changes in composition and structure. The optical absorption and scattering coefficients of μa and μs' decreased with increasing heating time. The specific μs' coefficients at 432 nm, 455 nm, 1183 nm and 1304 nm were related to particle structural changes. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) models based on μs' coefficients in the combined Vis-NIR and SWIR regions provided satisfactory estimations of puree particle area (Rp2 = 0.90) and particle perimeter (Rp2 = 0.85), whereas the μs' coefficients in the Vis-NIR region predicted puree viscosity (Rp2 = 0.83), elasticity modulus (Rp2 = 0.81) and viscous modulus (Rp2 = 0.78). Consequently, optical properties can be a potential tool to determine structural and rheological changes of apple puree.

Exploring apple pectic polysaccharides: Extraction, characterization, and biological activities - A comprehensive review

Apple (Malus domestica) is a popular and ancient fruit of the Myrtaceae family. Apple fruit is well-known for its great nutritional and phytochemical content consisted of beneficial compounds such as polyphenols, polysaccharides, sterols, and organic acids. Polysaccharides extracted from different parts of the apple fruit, including the peel, pomace, or the whole fruit, have been extensively studied. Researchers have investigated the structural characteristics of these polysaccharides, such as molecular weight, type of monosaccharide unit, type of linkage and its position and arrangement. Besides this, functional properties and physicochemical and of apple polysaccharides have also been studied, along with the effects of extraction procedures, storage, and processing on cell wall polysaccharides. Various extraction techniques, including hot water extraction, enzymatic extraction, and solvent-assisted extraction, have been studied. From the findings, it was evident that apple polysaccharides are mainly composed of (1 → 3), (1 → 6): α-β-glycosidic linkage. Moreover, the apple polysaccharides were demonstrated to exhibit antioxidant, hepatoprotective, anti-cancer, hypoilipidemic, and enzyme inhibitory properties in vitro and in vivo. The potential applications of apple polysaccharides in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical industries have also been explored in the present review. Overall, the research on apple polysaccharides highlights their significant potential as a source of biologically active compounds with various health benefits and practical applications.

A cold-water polysaccharide-protein complex from Grifola frondosa exhibited antiproliferative activity via mitochondrial apoptotic and Fas/FasL pathways in HepG2 cells

Grifola frondosa (G. frondosa) is widely known for its anti-tumor potential, which has been demonstrated by numerous scientific researches. In this study, two water soluble polysaccharide-protein complexes were extracted from G. frondosa at 4 °C (GFG-4) and 100 °C (GFG-100) and purified. Compared with GFG-100, GFG-4 had a higher protein content and molecular weight. The main monosaccharides of GFG-4 and GFG-100 were rhamnose, glucose, and galactose, with an approximate ratio of 3.00: 1.00: 0.86 and 2.85: 1.00: 0.94, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that the two polysaccharide-protein complexes displayed characteristic functional groups of polysaccharides and proteins, and mainly contain pyranose ring with α-glycosidic linkage. Atomic force microscope images showed that both GFG-4 and GFG-100 exhibited straight chains, and GFG-4 possessed a relatively abundant fraction of branched chains. Intriguingly, GFG-4 showed a stronger antiproliferative activity against HepG2 cells than GFG-100. The mechanisms were further investigated by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot, it found that GFG-4 inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells mainly through the intrinsic activation of mitochondrial pathway and the Fas/FasL-mediated Caspase-8/-3 pathway. Conclusively, G. frondosa cold-water extracted polysaccharide-protein complexes could be used as a functional food for preventing or treating hepatocellular carcinoma.

Pasteurization Modifies the Sensorial Attributes and Nutritional Profile of Orange Pulp By-Product

After orange processing, different by-products are generated, i.e., peels, seeds and pulps. The pulp is highly perishable, being an unstable food matrix that needs a preservation process to be stored and used again in the food production chain. Pasteurization is the technique of choice before aseptically packaging and storing under refrigerated conditions. In this study, the effect of pasteurization has been evaluated on the chemical, functional and sensorial profiles. Ash content decreased (p < 0.05) after the thermal treatment. Indeed, magnesium, calcium and zinc diminished, although copper was found to be higher (p < 0.05) in the pasteurized product. Total dietary fiber decreased (p < 0.05), but soluble dietary fiber raised (p < 0.05) due to hydrolysis caused by pasteurization. SDF:IDF ratio, hydration properties, and fat binding capacity were improved. Total soluble phenolic compounds remained similar but FRAP and DPPH scavenging activity decreased (p < 0.05) in the pasteurized by-product. Regarding the sensorial profile, pasteurization produced darkening, appearance of a cooked smell and an increase in bitterness. Therefore, pasteurization deteriorates the sensorial profile being able to change the attributes of an added-pasteurized-pulp juice; however, it is a good choice to preserve the orange pulp by-product to formulate food products different from juices or other beverages.

Physiochemical, sensorial, and rheological characteristics of sauce developed from Kashmiri apples: Influence of cultivars and storage conditions

The present investigation was undertaken to develop sauce from different cultivars of apples. Apple sauce of 5 cultivars was developed and effect of the storage conditions on the pH, acidity, TSS, total sugar, color, sensory, and rheological behavior of different apple sauce cultivars was studied. Analytical determinations were made after 0, 15, 30, and 45 days at both refrigerated and ambient conditions. The observed range of TSS was 30 to 30.14˚brix for refrigerated and 27.4 to 30.7˚brix for sauces stored at ambient storage conditions.. The pH decreased during the overall storage period from 4.07 to 3.96 in refrigerated samples, while as pH decreased from 4.06 to 3.92 in ambient stored samples. Rheological properties of sauces were evaluated using a parallel plate rheometer that showed the storage modulus, G' higher than the loss modulus, G″ for all the sauce samples indicating the dominance of the elastic behavior. The viscosity decreased with an increase in the shear rate for both, refrigerated and ambient stored sauce samples at the end of the storage period. Organoleptic characteristics (taste, color, aroma, and appearance) were examined by a semi-trained panelist using 5 point hedonic scale. The sauce samples from Mollies Delicious and Chamure apple cultivars showed the highest acceptance.

Comprehensive Utilization of Thinned Unripe Fruits from Horticultural Crops

Fruit thinning is a cultivation technique that is widely applied in horticulture in order to obtain high-quality horticultural crops. This practice results in the discarding of a large number of thinned unripe fruits in orchards each year, which produces a great waste of agricultural resources and causes soil pollution that may be an important reservoir for pest and plant diseases. Current studies showed that bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, organic acids, monosaccharides and starches are present in unripe fruits. Therefore, we reviewed the bioactive components obtained from thinned unripe fruits, their revalorization for the food industry, their beneficial effects for human health and the methods for obtaining these components. We also performed a calculation of the costs and benefits of obtaining these bioactive compounds, and we proposed future research directions. This review provides a reference for the effective utilization and industrial development of thinned unripe fruits obtained from horticultural crops. Furthermore, revalorizing the waste from this cultural practice may increase the economic benefits and relieve the environmental stress.

Are Homemade and Commercial Infant Foods Different? A Nutritional Profile and Food Variety Analysis in Spain

Complementary feeding (CF) is an important determinant of early and later life nutrition with great implications for the health status and the development of an adequate growth. Parents can choose between homemade foods (HMFs) and/or commercial infant foods (CIFs). There is no consistent evidence as to whether HMFs provide a better nutritional profile and variety over CIFs. The aim of this study was to compare the nutritional profiles and food variety of HMFs versus CIFs in the Spanish market targeted for infants (6-11 months) and young children (12-18 months). Thirty mothers with their children aged 6 to 18 months were included in this cross-sectional study, following a 3-day weighed food diary of which HMFs were collected and chemically analyzed. HMFs meals for infant provided significantly lower energy, higher protein and higher fiber, for young children provided significantly higher protein and fiber than CIFs meals. HMFs fruit purees for infant shown significantly higher fiber and for young children provided higher energy than CIFs. HMFs meals contained a significantly greater number of different vegetables than CIFs meals (3.7 vs. 3.3), with carrot as the most frequently used in both. However, in CIFs fruit purees shown higher different fruits than HMFs, in both the banana was the fruit most frequently used. There was a predominance of meat and lack of oily fish and legumes in both HMFs and CIFs meals. HMFs and CIFs were equally characterized by a soft texture and yellow-orange colours. Importantly, our findings emphasize the need for clear guidelines for the preparation of HMFs as well as the promotion of food variety (taste and textures) in both HMFs and CIFs to suit infants' and young children's nutritional and developmental needs.

METHODS OF DETERMINATION OF PARAMETERS OF WHEY WITH FOOD FIBERS

The article presents fixation methods of parameters of whey with food fibers for fermentation with lacto-fermentative Zygosaccharomyces lactis 868-K yeast for getting a non-alcoholic fermented beverage. As a result of the analysis of conditions of preparation and introduction of food fibers – apple pectin in cellulose and orange Citri-Fi into whey, there were determined optimal parameters of the process of increasing viscosity of whey-vegetable mixtures. The method of IR-spectroscopy fixed the influence of different forms of bonds of food fibers’ moisture in mixtures with water and whey. There was revealed the continuous absorption of moisture of spectrums of samples with food fibers and apple pectin in cellulose in strips of 2668 and 2723 cm-1, that testifies to the presence of strong hydrogenous bonds and high concentration of a mobile proton and, as a result, the high sorption ability to water. There were offered methods and gotten results of the analysis of the carbon dioxide content, amount of formed ethyl alcohol and yeast cells, allowing to determine rational conditions of fermentation of whey-vegetable wort of the increased viscosity. At fermentation using Zygosaccharomyces lactis 868-K race, the most intensive increment of yeast cells was observed before 30 hours of fermentation. There was established the rational temperature of fermentation of whey-vegetable wort with the increased viscosity– 30...32 °С, at which the maximal accumulation of yeast cells - 70,5...71,2 мmln/cm3 and ethyl alcohol 0,69...1,02 % was observed. The presented information was enough for grounding parameters of technological stages of whey fermented beverages with the high viscosity.

Effects of drying methods on physicochemical and immunomodulatory properties of polysaccharide-protein complexes from litchi pulp

Dried litchi pulp has been used in traditional remedies in China for many years to treat various diseases, and the therapeutic activity has been, at least partly, attributed to the presence of bioactive polysaccharides. Polysaccharide-protein complexes from vacuum freeze-(VF), vacuum microwave-(VM) and heat pump (HP) dried litchi pulp, which were coded as LP-VF, LP-VM and LP-HP, were comparatively studied on the physicochemical and immunomodulatory properties. LP-HP had a predominance of galactose, while glucose was the major sugar component in LP-VF and LP-VM. Compared with LP-VF and LP-VM, LP-HP contained more aspartate and glutamic in binding protein. LP-HP also exhibited a stronger stimulatory effect on splenocyte proliferation at 200 μg/mL and triggered higher NO, TNF-α and IL-6 secretion from RAW264.7 macrophages. Different drying methods caused the difference in physicochemical properties of polysaccharide-protein complexes from dried litchi pulp, which resulted in significantly different immunomodulatory activity. HP drying appears to be the best method for preparing litchi pulp to improve its immunomodulatory properties.

Impact of processing on the noncovalent interactions between procyanidin and apple cell wall

Procyanidins can bind cell wall material in raw product, and it could be supposed that the same mechanism of retention of procyanidins by apple cell walls takes place in cooked products. To evaluate the influence of cell wall composition and disassembly during cooking on the cell walls' capacity to interact with procyanidins, four cell wall materials differing in their protein contents and physical characteristics were prepared: cell wall with proteins, cell wall devoid of protein, and two processed cell walls differing by their drying method. Protein contents varied from 23 to 99 mg/g and surface areas from 1.26 to 3.16 m(2)/g. Apple procyanidins with an average polymerization degree of 8.7 were used. The adsorption of apple procyanidins on solid cell wall material was quantified using the Langmuir isotherm formulation. The protein contents in cell wall material had no effect on procyanidin/cell wall interactions, whereas modification of the cell wall material by boiling, which reduces pectin content, and drying decreased the apparent affinity and increased the apparent saturation levels when constants were expressed relative to cell wall weight. However, boiling and drying increased apparent saturation levels and had no effect on apparent affinity when the same data were expressed per surface units. Isothermal titration calorimetry indicated strong affinity (K(a) = 1.4 × 10(4) M(-1)) between pectins solubilized by boiling and procyanidins. This study higllights the impact of highly methylated pectins and drying, that is, composition and structure of cell wall in the cell wall/procyanidin interactions.

Quality and sensory acceptability of a chilled functional apple ready-dessert

An apple and dairy based ready-dessert with an added prebiotic was stored and chill temperatures and number of quality attributes were monitored during chill (4 °C) storage for 30 days. All ready-desserts were thermally processed by sous vide (P (90) > 10 min). The stability of the dairy component in ready-desserts was monitored by measuring volatile free fatty acids. Changes in these components were more evident in prebiotic-enriched samples compared to controls. However, no significant differences were observed over storage in control and prebiotic-enriched ready-desserts. This was supported by sensory analysis that showed no significant changes over storage in control or prebiotic-enriched samples. Of the other quality parameters, the addition of prebiotic inclusions resulted in lower L and b values and dry matter (p < 0.05), while increasing (p < 0.05) soluble solids content compared to control samples. Fluctuations in some of the quality parameters were also observed over storage. Rheological characteristics, i.e. flow behaviour (n), consistency index (K), storage (G'), loss (G″) and complex (G*) moduli were unaffected by prebiotic inclusion. However, storage affected the rheological characteristics of ready-desserts. A decrease (p < 0.05) in flow behaviour (n) led to concomitant increases in consistency index (K) and complex modulus (G*) values in control samples.

Dietary fiber: defintion, sources and extraction

The interest in food rich in dietary fiber increased in the recent decades, and the importance of this food constituent has led to the development of a large market for fibre-rich products and ingredients. A high dietary fiber intake has been related to several physiological and metabolic effects. By-products of plant food processing represent a major disposal problem for the industry concerned, but they are also promising sources of compounds which may be used because of their favourable technological or nutritional properties. Soluble dietary fiber is those components that are soluble in water and includes pectic substances and hydrocolloids. Good sources of soluble fibers include fruits, vegetables, legumes, soybeans, psyllium seeds and oat bran. Insoluble dietary fiber is those components that are insoluble in water and includes cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Whole grains are good sources of insoluble fiber. Comercialize fibre product have to perform some characteristic properties.