Textural properties, sensory acceptance and fatty acid profile of cooked meat batters employing pumpkin seed paste or soybean oil oleogel as fat replacers

Pumpkin and Pumpkin By-Products: A Comprehensive Overview of Phytochemicals, Extraction, Health Benefits, and Food Applications

A versatile and popular Cucurbitaceous vegetable, pumpkin has recently gained much attention because of its variety of phytochemicals and health advantages. Pumpkins are a type of winter squash, traditionally with large, spherical, orange fruits and a highly nutrient food. Pumpkin by-products comprise various parts, such as seeds, peels, and pulp residues, with their bioactive composition and many potential benefits poorly explored by the food industry. Pumpkin and their by-products contain a wide range of phytochemicals, including carotenoids, polyphenols, tocopherols, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibers. These compounds in pumpkin by-products exhibit antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and antimicrobial properties and could reduce the risk of chronic diseases. This comprehensive review aims to provide a detailed overview of the phytochemicals found in pumpkin and its by-products, along with their extraction methods, health benefits, and diverse food and industrial applications. This information can offer valuable insights for food scientists seeking to reevaluate pumpkin's potential as a functional ingredient. Reusing these by-products would support integrating a circular economy approach by boosting the market presence of valuable and sustainable products that improve health while lowering food waste.

Oleogels as a Promising Alternative to Animal Fat in Saturated Fat-Reduced Meat Products: A Review

The surge in chronic diseases is closely linked to heightened levels of saturated and trans fatty acids in processed foods, particularly meat products. Addressing this concern, various strategies have been employed to alleviate the impact of these detrimental fats. Among these, oleogels have emerged as a novel and promising approach in the food industry. As restructured fat systems, oleogels offer a unique opportunity to enhance the nutritional profile of meat products while providing distinct health and environmental advantages. This comprehensive review explores the transformative role of oleogels as innovative substitutes for traditional animal fats in a variety of meat products. Utilizing materials such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), sterols, beeswax, γ-oryzanol, β-sitosterol, and others, oleogels have been investigated in diverse studies. The examination encompasses their impact on the textural, nutritional, and oxidative dimensions of meat patties, pork patties, pork liver pâtés, beef heart patties, and meat batters. An in-depth exploration is undertaken into the influence of various elements, including the type of oil, gelling agents, and processing methods, on the stability and physicochemical attributes of oleogels. Additionally, the paper scrutinizes the potential effects of oleogels on sensory attributes, texture, and the shelf life of meat products. In conclusion, this collective body of research emphasizes the versatility and efficacy of oleogels as viable replacements for traditional animal fats across a spectrum of meat products. The documented improvements in nutritional quality, oxidative stability, and sensory attributes pave the way for the development of healthier and more sustainable formulations in the meat industry.

Macadamia oil-based oleogels as cocoa butter alternatives: Physical properties, oxidative stability, lipolysis, and application

In this study, macadamia oil-based oleogels were prepared using monoglyceride stearate (MG) as a gelator with a low critical gelation concentration (3.0 wt%). The physical properties of the oleogels were evaluated by polarized light microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, texture and rheological analysis. And the lipid digestion and oxidative stability of the macadamia oil were determined by pH titration and accelerated oxidation test, respectively. The results showed that the hardness, oil binding capacity, and thermal stability of the oleogels increased with increasing MG concentration, which was attributed to the formation of a network of MG crystals held together by van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds. Rheological analysis indicated that all the oleogels exhibited a thermally reversible solid-to-liquid transition and viscoelastic behavior at ambient temperatures. Moreover, the formation of oleogels increased fatty acid release during in vitro lipid digestion and improved the oxidative stability of the macadamia oil. In addition, the potential application of these oleogels as replacements for saturated fats in foods was demonstrated by creating a chocolate product where the cocoa butter was replaced with macadamia oil-based oleogels with a high degree of unsaturation. These results can provide guidance for the preparation of macadamia oil-based oleogels, which may increase their application in foods.

Elevating meat products: Unleashing novel gel techniques for enhancing lipid profiles

Rising health concerns and the diet-health link drive demand for healthier foods, prompting meat manufacturers to reformulate traditional products. These manufacturers have reduced fat content to enhance nutritional quality, which is essential for maintaining desired product features. As a result, numerous strategies have emerged over recent decades to decrease fat and enhance the lipid profiles of meat products. Among these strategies, using hydrocolloids, emulsification, encapsulation, or gelation of oils to produce fat substitutes stands out. Using gels allows fat replacers with characteristics similar to animal fat (similar rheological, physical, or appearance properties) but with a much healthier lipid profile (by incorporating highly unsaturated oils). Therefore, this manuscript aims to comprehensively describe the main fat replacers used to prepare meat products. In addition, an in-depth review of the latest studies (2022-2023) that use novel gels to reform meat products has been made, indicating in each case the implications that the reformulation produces at a physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory level. Given the reported results, it seems clear that the strategy of using bigels or emulgels is very promising and allows obtaining nutritionally highly improved meat products without affecting their sensory or physicochemical properties. However, the best conditions to obtain a novel gel suitable for use as a fat substitute for each meat product still need to be studied and correctly defined. Moreover, these advancements can pave the way for more extensive studies on using novel gel techniques in other food industries, expanding their applicability and leading to healthier consumer options across various food categories.

Pumpkin and Pumpkin Byproducts: Phytochemical Constitutes, Food Application and Health Benefits

Nowadays, agricultural waste byproducts are exploited in the food industry rather than discarded. Pumpkin is one of the most significant vegetable crops that is widely consumed in farmland and certain urban regions. The current study was designed to measure the phytochemical constituents, food application, health benefits, and toxicity of pumpkin and pumpkin byproducts. Pumpkins and pumpkin byproducts (seeds, leaf, and skin/peel) can be utilized as functional ingredients. Different parts of the pumpkin contain bioactive compounds including carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin E, ascorbic acid, phytosterols, selenium, and linoleic acid. Pumpkin is used in various food sectors as a functional food, including baking, beverages, meat, and dairy industries. Furthermore, the leaves and pulp of the pumpkin are used to produce soups, purees, jams, and pies. Different parts of pumpkins have several health benefits such as antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, this review paper elaborates on the pumpkins and pumpkin byproducts that can be used to develop food products and may be valuable against various diseases.

Cold pressed pumpkin seed oil fatty acids, carotenoids, volatile compounds profiles and infrared fingerprints as affected by storage time and wax-based oleogelation

BACKGROUND

Pumpkin seed and sunflower oil are rich in bioactive compounds, but are prone to oxidation during storage. Their fatty acids, carotenoid and volatile compounds and their Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) profiles were studied during 8 months storage in order to assess the overall quality, but also to assess the impact of the oleogelation as conditioning process.

RESULTS

The fatty acids methyl esters were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The linoleic acid was the most abundant in the oils (604.6 g kg^-1 in pumpkin and 690 g kg^-1 in sunflower), but also in oleogels. Through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), lutein and β-carotene were determined as specific carotenoid compounds of the pumpkin seed oil and oleogel, in a total amount of 0.0072 g kg^-1 . The volatile compounds profile revealed the presence of alpha-pinene for the pumpkin seed oil and oleogels and a tentative identification of limonene for the sunflower oil. Hexanal was also detected in the oleogels, indicating a thermal oxidation, which was further analyzed through infrared spectroscopy.

CONCLUSIONS

During 8 months storage, the decrease of polyunsaturated fatty acid total amount was 5.72% for the pumpkin seed oil and 3.55% for the oleogel, while in the sunflower oil samples of 2.93% and 3.28% for the oleogel. It was concluded that oleogelation might protect specific carotenoid compounds, since the oleogels displayed higher content of β-carotene at each storage time. Hexanal and heptanal were detected during storage, regardless of the oil or oleogel type. FTIR analysis depicts the differences in the constituent fatty acids resulting due to thermal oxidation or due to storage. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Oleogels-Innovative Technological Solution for the Nutritional Improvement of Meat Products

Food products contain important quantities of fats, which include saturated and/or unsaturated fatty acids. Because of a proven relationship between saturated fat consumption and the appearance of several diseases, an actual trend is to eliminate them from foodstuffs by finding solutions for integrating other healthier fats with high stability and solid-like structure. Polyunsaturated vegetable oils are healthier for the human diet, but their liquid consistency can lead to a weak texture or oil drain if directly introduced into foods during technological processes. Lately, the use of oleogels that are obtained through the solidification of liquid oils by using edible oleogelators, showed encouraging results as fat replacers in several types of foods. In particular, for meat products, studies regarding successful oleogel integration in burgers, meat batters, pâtés, frankfurters, fermented and bologna sausages have been noted, in order to improve their nutritional profile and make them healthier by substituting for animal fats. The present review aims to summarize the newest trends regarding the use of oleogels in meat products. However, further research on the compatibility between different oil-oleogelator formulations and meat product components is needed, as it is extremely important to obtain appropriate compositions with adequate behavior under the processing conditions.

Characterization of the Quality and Oxidative Stability of Hemp-Oil-Based Oleogels as an Animal Fat Substitute for Meat Patties

The effect of the incorporation of rice bran wax (5%; 7%) or candelilla wax (3%; 7%) for production of hemp-oil-based oleogels was analyzed in this study. The experiment was carried out to replace between 0 and 100% of animal fat in meat patties with oleogels. Free fatty acids (FFAs), acid value (AV), oxidative stability index (OSI), conjugated diene value, malondialdehyde value, physicochemical properties, and the sensory properties of oleogels and meat patties were studied. The results indicated that hemp oil had more polyunsaturated fatty acids and lower oxidative stability when compared to oleogels. The OSI for oil was 3.1 h, while for oleogels it was 3.4-3.6 (candelilla case) or 3.7-3.9 (rice bran). Oleogels were able to match pork fat texture properties such as spreadability and adhesiveness in meat patties. However, sensory data for cooked meat patties with animal fat fully replaced by oleogels revealed that samples with 100% pork fat had higher juiciness and taste intensity. Our results showed that a wax-based oleogel had a higher oxidative stability and nutritional profile, but further investigations to mimic pork fat properties in meat patties are necessary.

A Review of Potential Use of Amazonian Oils in the Synthesis of Organogels for Cosmetic Application

New strategies for the delivery of bioactives in the deeper layers of the skin have been studied in recent years, using mainly natural ingredients. Among the strategies are organogels as a promising tool to load bioactives with different physicochemical characteristics, using vegetable oils. Studies have shown satisfactory skin permeation, good physicochemical stability mainly due to its three-dimensional structure, and controlled release using vegetable oils and low-molecular-weight organogelators. Within the universe of natural ingredients, vegetable oils, especially those from the Amazon, have a series of benefits and characteristics that make them unique compared to conventional oils. Several studies have shown that the use of Amazonian oils brings a series of benefits to the skin, among which are an emollient, moisturizing, and nourishing effect. This work shows a compilation of the main Amazonian oils and their nutraceutical and physicochemical characteristics together with the minority polar components, related to health benefits, and their possible effects on the synthesis of organogels for cosmetic purposes.

Physicochemical properties of beef burger after partial incorporation of ethylcellulose oleogel instead of animal fat

The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical properties of beef burger after substitution of animal fat with the ethylcellulose (EC) oleogel. Therefore, sesame oil oleogels were prepared using EC in concentrations of 10%, and cooled at 25 °C. The fatty acid profile of EC oleogel compared with animal fat. Then, the EC oleogel was incorporated to hamburger at the 0, 25 and 50% instead of animal fat and color and textural properties as well as cooking loss, cooking shrinkage, fat absorption, and lipid oxidation of the beef burgers were evaluated. As an outcome, the EC oleogel contained high levels of linoleic and linolenic acids, while the palmitic and stearic acids were lower than the animal fats, and myristic acid was not detectable. Replacement of animal fat with EC oleogel upgraded the quality of final product by reducing cooking loss and fat absorption. Production of beef burger with EC oleogel decreased the oxidation process during frozen storage as well as cooking loss and fat absorption, and enhanced textural properties including chewiness and hardness. Improvement of nutritional and technological properties of hamburgers contained EC oleogel makes it a desirable candidate for animal fat substitution.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at(10.1007/s13197-021-04970-4).

Improvements in the methodology for fatty acids analysis in meat products: One-stage transmethylation and fast-GC method

The quantification of fatty acids (FA) in meat products is frequently carried out by two-stage methylation procedures followed by long gas chromatography (GC) runs. This work aimed to simplify this methodology by means of a one-stage transmethylation method and a fast GC run, evaluating the influence of sample preparation, reagents and type of heating on the amount of FA in different meat products and optimizing a fast GC-FID (flame ionization detector) run. This allowed to establish the optimum combination of parameters (methanol + chlorotrimethylsilane, lyophilized samples and oven heating) to achieve the quantification of the highest possible amount of FA and to reduce the time of GC run from 60 to 10 min. The quality evaluation of this method obtained satisfactory results. Thus, the quantification of FA in meat products was achieved in a straightforwardly and quickly way by using a one-stage transmethylation procedure followed by a fast GC-FID run.

Future trends of processed meat products concerning perceived healthiness: A review

The 21st-century consumer is highly demanding when it comes to the health benefits of food and food products. In the pursuit of attracting these consumers and easing the rise in demand for high-quality meat products, the processed meat sector is intensely focused on developing reformulated, low-fat, healthy meat products. Meat and meat products are considered the primary sources of saturated fatty acids in the human diet. Therefore, these reformulation strategies aim to improve the fatty acid profile and reduce total fat and cholesterol, which can be achieved by replacing animal fat with plant-based oils; it could be performed as direct inclusion of these oils or pre-emulsified oils. However, emulsions offer a viable option for incorporating vegetable oils while avoiding the multiple issues of direct inclusion of these oils in meat products. Processed meat products are popular worldwide and showing a gradually increasing trend of consumption. Various types of plant-based oils have been studied as fat replacers in meat products. This review will focus on possible methods to reduce the saturated fatty acid content in meat products.

Improving the nutritional profile of culinary products: oleogel-based bouillon cubes

Structured fat phases are the basis of many consumer relevant properties of fat-containing foods. To realise a nutritional improvement - less saturated, more unsaturated fatty acids - edible oleogels could be remedy. The feasibility of traditional fat phases structured by oleogel in culinary products has been evaluated in this study. In this contribution the oleogel application in bouillon cubes as model system for culinary products is discussed. Three different gelators (sunflower wax (SFW), a mixture of β-Sitosterol and γ-Oryzanol (SO) and ethylcellulose (EC)), at two concentration levels (5% and 10% (w/w)) each, were evaluated with respect to their physical properties, in the food matrix and application. The application of pure and structured canola oil (CO) was benchmarked against the reference, palm fat (PO). The assessment of the prototypes covered attempts to correlate the physicochemical analyses and sensory data. Organoleptic and analytical studies covered storage stability (up to 6 months) monitoring texture, color and fat oxidation. The results indicate that the substitution of palm fat by oleogel is essentially possible. The characteristics of the bouillon cubes are tuneable by gelator choice and inclusion level. Most importantly, the data show that the anticipated risk of intolerable effects of oxidation during shelf life is limited if antioxidants are used.