Stability of betanin in pitaya powder and confection as affected by resistant maltodextrin

Valorization of dragon fruit waste to value-added bioproducts and formulations: A review

Owing to the increasing worldwide population explosion, managing waste generated from the food sector has become a cross-cutting issue globally, leading to environmental, economic, and social issues. Circular economy-inspired waste valorization approaches have been increasing steadily, generating new business opportunities developing valuable bioproducts using food waste, especially fruit wastes, that may have several applications in energy-food-pharma sectors. Dragon fruit waste is one such waste resource, which is rich in several value-added chemicals and oils, and can be a renewable resource to produce several value-added compounds of potential applications in different industries. Pretreatment and extraction processes in biorefineries are important strategies for recovering value-added biomolecules. There are different methods of valorization, including green extractions and biological conversion approaches. However, microbe-based conversion is one of the advanced technologies for valorizing dragon fruit waste into bioethanol, bioactive products, pharmaceuticals, and other valued products by reusing or recycling them. This state-of-the-art review briefly overviews the dragon fruit waste management strategies and advanced eco-friendly and cost-effective valorization technologies. Furthermore, various applications of different valuable bioactive components obtained from dragon fruit waste have been critically discussed concerning various industrial sectors. Several industrial sectors, such as food, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels, have been critically reviewed in detail.

Phytoferritin functions in two interface-loading of natural pigment betanin and caffeic acid with enhanced color stability and the sustained release of betanin

Betanin, a natural red pigment, is sensitive and prone to fading and discoloration, affecting its stability and bioavailability. Phytoferritin is a nano-diameter protein with unique interior-/exterior-interfaces. By the unique interfaces and pH-induced self-assembly of ferritin, a ferritin-betanin complex (FB) with an encapsulation efficiency of 17.66 ± 1.24% was prepared. The caffeic acid-FB (CFB) was further fabricated by attaching ferritin with caffeic acid, and the binding number n of caffeic acid was 88.47 ± 9.49, with a binding constant K of (1.63 ± 0.33) × 104 M-1. Fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared analysis indicated that the encapsulation of betanin and the binding of caffeic acid influenced the ferritin structure. The interaction between caffeic acid and ferritin was mainly through van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds. TEM and DLS showed that the globular structure and diameter (12 nm) remained in CFB. Furthermore, the ferritin and caffeic acid exhibited a synergistic effect in enhancing thermal, light, and ferric ion stabilities, and controlled the betanin release in a more sustained manner in the simulated gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the antioxidant capacity of CFB was enhanced compared with free betanin. This study promotes the bioavailability of betanin by two interface-loading of ferritin, and guides the use of ferritin nanoparticles as a nanocarrier for pigment stabilization.

Influence of storage variables on the antioxidant and antitumor activities, phenolic compounds and vitamin C of an agglomerate of Andean berries

Berry consumption is increasing worldwide due to their high content of bioactive compounds. However, such fruits have a very short shelf life. To avoid this drawback and to offer an effective alternative for its consumption at any time of the year, an agglomerated berry powder mix (APB) was developed. The aim of this work was to evaluate the stability of APB during a 6-months-period storage at 3 temperatures. The stability of APB was determined by moisture, a_w, antioxidant activity, total phenolics, total anthocyanins, vitamin C, color, phenolic profiles, and MTT assay. APB showed differences in antioxidant activity between 0 and 6 months. It experimented non-enzymatic browning, which was more remarkable at 35 °C. APB at time 0 exhibited growth inhibitory effects against HT-29 human cancer cells. Most properties were significantly modified by storage temperature and time, which induces a significant decreasing of bioactive compounds.

Co-encapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum and bioactive compounds extracted from red beet stem (Beta vulgaris L.) by spray dryer

Probiotic bacteria and bioactive compounds obtained from plant origin stand out as ingredients with the potential to increase the healthiness of functional foods, as there is currently a recurrent search for them. Probiotics and bioactive compounds are sensitive to intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the processing and packaging of the finished product. In this sense, the present study aims to evaluate the co-encapsulation by spray dryer (inlet air temperature 120 °C, air flow 40 L / min, pressure of 0.6 MPa and 1.5 mm nozzle diameter) of probiotic bacteria (L.plantarum) and compounds extracted from red beet stems (betalains) in order to verify the interaction between both and achieve better viability and resistance of the encapsulated material. When studying the co-encapsulation of L.plantarum and betalains extracted from beet stems, an unexpected influence was observed with a decrease in probiotic viability in the highest concentration of extract (100 %), on the other hand, the concentration of 50 % was the best enabled and maintained the survival of L.plantarum in conditions of 25 °C (63.06 %), 8 °C (88.80 %) and -18 °C (89.28 %). The viability of the betalains and the probiotic was better preserved in storage at 8 and -18 °C, where the encapsulated stability for 120 days was successfully achieved. Thus, the polyfunctional formulation developed in this study proved to be promising, as it expands the possibilities of application and development of new foods.

Nature's palette: An emerging frontier for coloring dairy products

Consumers all across the world are looking for the most delectable and appealing foods, while also demanding products that are safer, more nutritious, and healthier. Substitution of synthetic colorants with natural colorants has piqued consumer and market interest in recent years. Due to increasing demand, extensive research has been conducted to find natural and safe food additives, such as natural pigments, that may have health benefits. Natural colorants are made up of a variety of pigments, many of which have significant biological potential. Because of the promising health advantages, natural colorants are gaining immense interest in the dairy industry. This review goes over the use of various natural colorants in dairy products which can provide desirable color as well as positive health impacts. The purpose of this review is to provide an in-depth look into the field of food (natural or synthetic) colorants applied in dairy products as well as their potential health benefits, safety, general trends, and future prospects  in food science and technology. In this paper, we listed a plethora of applications of natural colorants in various milk-based products.

Effects of Betanin on Pasting, Rheology and Retrogradation Properties of Different Starches

As a natural pigment with high antioxidative activity, betanin is underutilized owing to less attention. This study aimed to investigate the impact of betanin on pasting, rheology and retrogradation properties of rice, potato and pea starches. Betanin decreased the peak, trough and final viscosity of rice and potato starches, but increased those of pea starch. Rheology measurements implied that betanin had the greatest effect on the hysteresis loops and dynamic modulus of potato starch. Betanin endowed starch pastes with a vivid red appearance and maintained the color of the starch pastes during storage. XRD analysis indicated that betanin weakened the diffraction intensities and reduced the crystallinity of the retrograded starches. Meanwhile, betanin reduced the short-range ordered structure of the retrograde starches. The results of DSC analysis found that betanin significantly depressed the retrogradation enthalpy and retrogradation rate, implying that the long-term retrogradation of starches was delayed. Furthermore, the changed morphology of the retrograded starches was observed. These results suggested that betanin could be applied as an excellent colorant and inhibitor of retrogradation in foods such as bread and pastry products.

Improvement of betalains stability extracted from red dragon fruit peel by ultrasound-assisted microencapsulation with maltodextrin

Natural betalains can be potential food additives because of their antioxidant activities, but they have poor thermal stability. In this study, betalains were extracted from red dragon fruit peel, and then encapsulated with maltodextrin by ultrasound method to increase the physicochemical properties of betalains microcapsules. The encapsulation efficiency of the betalains was above 79%, and the particle size and Zeta potential values were 275.46 nm and -29.01 mV, respectively. Compared to the control sample, onset temperature and DPPH free radical scavenging of betalains microcapsules under the modest ultrasound treatment (200 W, 5 min) was increased by 1.6 °C and 12.24%, respectively. This increase could be due to the ability of ultrasonification to create interactions between maltodextrin and betalains (as evidenced by FT-IR). Therefore, modest ultrasound treatment can be used for microcapsulation to improve the stability of betalains, and then expand the application of betalains in heat processed food field.

Enhancing or Inhibitory Effect of Fruit or Vegetable Bioactive Compound on Aspergillus niger and A. oryzae

Fruit and vegetable processing wastes are global challenges but also suitable sources with a variety of nutrients for different fermentative products using bacteria, yeast or fungi. The interaction of microorganisms with bioactive compounds in fruit waste can have inhibitory or enhancing effect on microbial growth. In this study, the antimicrobial effect of 10 bioactive compounds, including octanol, ellagic acid, (−)-epicatechin, quercetin, betanin, ascorbic acid, limonene, hexanal, car-3-ene, and myrcene in the range of 0–240 mg/L on filamentous fungi Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger were investigated. These fungi were both found to be resistant to all compounds except octanol, which can be used as a natural antifungal agent, specifically against A. oryzae and A. niger contamination. On the contrary, polyphenols (quercetin and ellagic acid), ascorbic acid, and hexanal enhanced A. niger biomass yield 28%, 7.8%, 16%, and 6%, respectively. Furthermore, 240 mg/L car-3-ene was found to increase A. oryzae biomass yield 8%, while a 9% decrease was observed at lower concentration, 24 mg/L. Similarly, up to 17% decrease of biomass yield was observed from betanin and myrcene. The resistant nature of the fungi against FPW bioactive compounds shows the potential of these fungi for further application in waste valorization.

Effects of Enzymatic Liquefaction, Drying Techniques, and Wall Materials on the Physicochemical Properties, Bioactivities, and Morphologies of Zinc-Amaranth (Amaranthus viridis L.) Powders

The demand for vegetable powder has been escalating considerably due to its various health benefits and higher shelf life compared to fresh green leafy vegetables. Thus, much research emphasised manufacturing vegetable powder at a lower operational cost and higher efficiency while preserving the nutritive values of the vegetables. In this study, zinc- (Zn-) amaranth puree was liquefied with three types of cell wall degrading enzymes (i.e., Viscozyme L, Pectinex Ultra SP-L, and Rapidase PAC) with varying concentrations (0–3% v/w) and incubation time (0.5–24 h) at pH 5 and 45°C before the drying process. The results showed that enzymatic liquefaction using 1% (v/w) of Viscozyme L for 3 h was the optimal procedure for the reduction of the viscosity of the puree. The liquefied puree was then microencapsulated through either spray- or freeze-drying with different wall materials, e.g., 10% of maltodextrin (MD) DE 10, resistant maltodextrin (RMD), N-octenyl succinate anhydride (OSA) starches from waxy maize, HI CAP 100 (HICAP), Capsul (CAP), and gum Arabic (GA). The results showed that all freeze-dried powders generally had higher process yield (except for that encapsulated by HICAP), higher moisture content (but similar water activities), higher retention of total Zn-chlorophyll derivatives, lower hygroscopicity with slab-like particles, larger particle size, and lower bulk density than those of spray-dried powders. In contrast, the spray-dried powders exhibited irregular spherical shapes with relatively high encapsulation efficiency and antioxidant activities. Nonetheless, encapsulation using different wall materials and drying methods had no significant effect on the powder's cohesiveness and flowability.

Effect of temperature and relative humidity on the stability of betalains encapsulated in cryogels from protein and polysaccharide

The stability of betalains (Bet) encapsulated in cryogels made with a mixture of albumin (ALB) and albumin-pectin (ALB-PEC) as wall materials were evaluated during storage at 32% and 83% relative humidity (RH) at several different temperature conditions (4 °C, 30 °C and 40 °C). The retention of betalains (betanin + isobetanin) and phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, the Folin-Ciocalteu method and radical ABTS*+ capture methodology. The color parameters and images of the encapsulated betalains were obtained. Cryogels prepared with ALB at 32% RH and at 4 °C provided betanin and isobetanin retention of 72% and 82%, with half-life times of 108 and 165 days, respectively. The antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds showed retention greater than 70% during storage at 32% RH at all temperatures. Cryogels prepared with ALB-PEC also conferred high retention percentages of phenolic compounds at 83% RH, but this high RH caused a significant decrease in the retention of betalains. Both ALB and ALB-PEC improved betalain stability during storage compared with the extracts without encapsulating. Therefore, cryogels could be used as protection matrices for betalains.

Storage stability of 5-caffeoylquinic acid in powdered cocona pulp microencapsulated with hydrolyzed collagen and maltodextrin blend

The encapsulation efficiency of spray-dried cocona pulp encapsulated with a blend of maltodextrin (MD) and hydrolyzed collagen (HC) (CP-ENC) and the stability, color parameters, antioxidant capacity (FRAP and ABTS), and 5-caffeoylquinic acid content were evaluated through 120 days of storage, at every 15 days, at 25 and 35 °C. The results of CP-ENC were compared to those of pure freeze-dried cocona pulp (CP-nENC). The sorption isotherms and glass transition temperatures (Tg) were determined in order to evaluate the stability of the cocona powder. The GAB model fitted well the experimental data for moisture sorption of samples. The high Tg for CP-ENC (132.02 °C) was attributed to the high molecular weight of encapsulating agents. The encapsulation efficiency and color parameters for CP-ENC kept constant values for 120 days. A loss of 30% in the antioxidant capacity occurred on day 75 for CP-ENC. The values of retention of 5-CQA for CP-ENC (83% and 68% when stored at 25 and 35 °C, respectively) were greater than those observed for CP-nENC. At 25 °C, stored CP-ENC had a higher retention and a longer half-life of 5-CQA (14.4 months) than CP-nENC. The results suggest that it is suitable to microencapsulate cocona pulp with MD and HC to improve protection of antioxidant compounds, throughout storage at 25 °C.

Microencapsulation of betacyanin from red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peels using pectin by simple coacervation to enhance stability

Betacyanin is a red natural dye pigment widely used in food products. However, the pigment is also unstable and easily degraded by temperature during storage and food processing. This research aims to increase the stability of betacyanin obtained from dragon fruit peels using pectin as a wall medium via the coacervation method. Due to the efficiency and shell integrity, the coacervation method was selected instead of spray drying to enhance betacyanin's stability. Coacervation was conducted in a three-necked round-bottomed flask fitted with a mercury-sealed stirrer and reflux condenser. An accelerated stability test was conducted at 80 °C and 100 °C for 30 min and considered completed after obtaining a stable absorbance. Two full factorials, three-level design, for 80 °C and 100 °C, were analyzed by Response Surface Methodology using Minitab® 19. The core/wall ratio, agitation speed, and pH were the continuous variables, with temperature as the categorical variables. The models were yielded high R-square and low coefficient of variance on the validation process. Simple coacervation is selected because of a superior method such as simplicity, low-cost, high efficiency, and high shell integrity.

Stabilization of betalains by encapsulation-a review

Betalains are pigments that have properties that benefit health, such as antioxidant, anticancer, and antimicrobial activity, and they also possess a high ability to provide color. However, these pigments, although used as colorants in certain foods, have not been able to be potentialized to diverse areas such as pharmacology, due to their instability to physicochemical factors such as high temperature, pH changes and high water activity. For this reason, different stabilization methods have been reported. The method that has presented best results for diversifying the use of betalains has been encapsulation. Encapsulation is a method of entrapment where the objective is to protect a compound utilizing more stable matrices from encapsulation technologies. This method has been employed to provide greater stability to betalains, using different matrices and encapsulation technologies. However, a review does not exist, to our knowledge, which analyzes the effect of matrices and encapsulation technologies on betalains stabilization. Therefore, the objective of this review article was to evaluate the different matrices and encapsulation techniques that have been employed to stabilize betalains, in order to arrive at specific conclusions concerning the effect of encapsulation on their stabilization and to propose new techniques and matrices that could promote their stabilization.

Extraction of red beet extract with β-cyclodextrin-enhanced ultrasound assisted extraction: A strategy for enhancing the extraction efficacy of bioactive compounds and their stability in food models

Improving the extraction efficiency and stability of red beet compounds has gained the attention of researchers due to their high nutritional and health benefits. In this study, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) enhanced ultrasound assisted extraction was used for the extraction of red beet extract, and lyophilized extracts were characterized with FTIR and DSC analyses. The samples extracted with aqueous 5% β-CD solutions revealed the highest content of betanin (2.243 ± 0.04 mg) and total phenolic compounds (20.03 ± 1.28 mg GAE/g DW), and the highest DPPH inhibition activity (59.87 ± 4.94%). Additionally, complexation with β-CD significantly enhanced the stability of betanin, phenolic compounds and antiradical activity in the stored beverage and gummy candy models at various pH and temperature conditions during 28 days. In conclusion, β-CD-enhanced ultrasound assisted extraction is a suitable approach to extracting and stabilizing the red beet compounds for application in food, nutraceutical, and medical fields.

Stability of β-carotene in carrot powder and sugar confection as affected by resistant maltodextrin and octenyl succinate anhydride (OSA) starches

Encapsulation has been used to overcome the problem of instability of functional pigments such as carotenoids from natural sources. In this study, β-carotene in carrot juice was spray dried with four different wall materials namely maltodextrin, resistant maltodextrin, octenyl succinate anhydride (OSA) starches Capsul (CAP) and HICAP-100 (HCAP). The objective of this research was to study the effects of various wall materials on physicochemical properties and stability of β-carotene powders along with its stability after incorporation into sugar confection. All four wall materials produced powders of acceptable quality in terms of moisture content, water activity, hygroscopicity, solubility as well as onset glass transition temperature. OSA starches exhibited better pigment retention post spray drying where juices encapsulated with HCAP showed the highest retention (94.34%). This was also represented in more orange Hue values (H°) in powders produced with CAP (53.93) and HCAP (53.33). Powders produced with HCAP also showed the longest half-life after storage at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 40 °C, as well as under exposure to light. Similarly, carrot powders produced with OSA starches also exhibited better β-carotene retention after production of hard candy confection. Though candies with HCAP encapsulated juices showed the highest β-carotene retention post candy processing, candies with CAP encapsulated carrot juices exhibited better long term stability after storage at 25 °C and 40 °C as well as under exposure to light.

A novel smart PEGylated gelatin nanoparticle for co-delivery of doxorubicin and betanin: A strategy for enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy

Betanin (BET) can reduce the side effects of potent anticancer drugs e.g. doxorubicin (DOX) on the normal tissues in co-administration with them because of the synergistic therapeutic effect and consequently the reduced required amount of anticancer agents. Despite interest in the use of BET, incomplete oral absorption and low stability of BET limit its application. Thus, in this study to overcome the restrictions of BET and providing the synergistic effect of DOX@BET, we designed a new pH-responsive nanocarrier via decoration of gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) by (methoxy poly (ethylene glycol)-poly ((2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate-co-itaconic acid) (PGNPs). DOX and BET were effectively loaded (the loading capacity of 20.5% and 16.25%, respectively) into the PGNPs and this nanoplatform exhibited the suitable small particle size (162 nm). Additionally, the triggered release ability of drugs was studied through the assessment of simulated physiological and tumor tissue environments and showed the controlled release of DOX and BET with adjusting the pH of environment. Moreover, the synergistic effect of DOX@BET loaded PGNPs decreased the cell viability amount of breast cancer cells (MCF-7) respect to the free form of DOX or BET which indicated that the developed smart nanocarrier will be a hopeful nanocarrier for cancer therapy.

Improvement in the stability of betanin by liposomal nanocarriers: Its application in gummy candy as a food model

Betanin is a red food pigment with health beneficial effects. Despite interest in the use of betanin, low bioaccessibility and oxidation limit its application. To overcome these restrictions, the betanin was loaded in liposomal nanocarriers with the encapsulation efficiency of 80.35 ± 1%. To assess the efficiency of these nanocarriers, gummy candy was selected as a food model and its nutritional properties such as betanin stability and antioxidant activity were probed. The results showed that the betanin content and antioxidant activity of samples containing betanin-nanoliposomes were at least twice to those of samples containing free betanin. The tests show no differences in the sensory parameters of panelists for gummy candies fortified by betanin-loaded nanoliposomes compared to those fortified by betanin alone. As a result, the liposomal nanoparticles may be introduced as a suitable platform to stabilize and increase the bioavailability of betanin for applications in nutraceutical and medical fields.