Volume 20, Issue 5

Solution blow spinning is a technology that uses high-pressure gas to prepare spinning solution into nanofibers. It has the advantages of high production efficiency and easy operation, and the prepared nanofibers have a large specific surface area, high porosity, and flexible surface functionalization. Therefore, solution blow spinning has received more and more attention in the food field. This paper first introduces the principle of solution blow spinning, the influence of spinning liquid properties, process parameters, and environmental factors on the spinning process. Secondly, it introduces the materials and ways of applying solution blow-spun nanofibers in the food field, such as bacteriostatic food packaging, slow-release food packaging, and intelligent sensors. Finally, the application of solution blow spinning technology in food is summarized and prospected. This paper provides a reference for further research and application of solution blow spinning in the food field at a later stage.

In order to explore the structures and combination mechanism of wheat gluten peptides-calcium chelate (WOP-Ca) in depth, WOP-Ca were prepared by chelating wheat gluten peptides (WOP) with calcium. The yield of WOP-Ca was determined to be 51.2 ± 2.12 %, and it exhibited a calcium-chelating rate of 58.96 ± 1.38 %. The structural differences between WOP-Ca and WOP were characterized using various analytical techniques, and the results revealed that WOP-Ca and WOP differed in their microstructure, characteristic group absorption peaks, changes in electron cloud distribution, and thermal stability. WOP-Ca demonstrated remarkable stability and resistance to changes in pH, temperature, and in vitro digestion with gastric protease. After undergoing various treatments, the molecular weight distribution in each interval changed very little. Identification of the peptides in WOP-Ca was achieved by utilizing a mass spectrometer, and a total of 39 peptides were identified in WOP-Ca. Among these, 14 peptides with Score ≥ 30 and Coverage ≥ 20 showed bioavailability percentages exceeding 30 %, with half surpassing 50 %. The binding mode between the 14 peptides and Ca 2+ was determined to be α linkage. The Ca–O bond lengths ranged from 2.40 to 3.20 Å, indicating the formation of structurally stable complexes. The carboxyl oxygen atoms played a crucial role in binding with Ca 2+ , with bond lengths ranging from 2.41 to 2.49 Å and 2.43 to 2.46 Å, respectively. The finding suggested that WOP-Ca prepared by chelation may be used as a calcium supplement that could serve as food additives, dietary nutrients, and pharmaceutical agents.

This study aimed to generate low molecular weight peptides (LMWP) from fish collagen type I hydrolysed by increasing activity of Alcalase ® from 0.0 to 12.0 (AU-A per 100 g) at 55 °C and 7.4 of pH for 3 h 40 min. The results showed that all enzyme activity levels caused 34–55 % reductions in protein recovery, 1.0–3.0 folds’ increase in free α-amino groups and 1.7–3.2 folds’ increase in carboxyl groups. Degree of hydrolysis ranged from 20 to 30 % with increasing enzyme activity. The number average molecular weight significantly reduced from 3200 g/mol in 0.0 AU-A per 100 g enzyme activity to 1151, 1398, 1175, 1040 and 1246 g/mol in 2.4, 4.8, 7.2, 9.6 and 12.0 AU-A per 100 g enzyme activities, respectively. Depending upon enzyme activity level, the produced LMWP with reactive carboxyl and amino end-groups exhibited 2.5- to 4.0-fold increases in antioxidant capacity and 1.0–3.5 log cfu/ml inhibition of four pathogen bacteria. Highest inhibition of 2.5 log cfu/ml in Escherichia coli was obtained from 2.4 AU-A per 100 g enzyme activity and 3.5 log cfu/ml in Listeria monocytogenes from 9.6 and 12.0 AU-A per 100 g enzyme activity levels. Infrared spectroscopy clearly identified reactive end-groups and showed remarkably differences in molar absorptivity of various molecular regions between non-enzyme and enzyme treated collagen type I molecule. A 9.6 and 12.0 AU-A per 100 g enzyme activity levels were found optimally effective to generate LMWP. In conclusion, LMWP exhibited high antioxidant and antibacterial activity due to increased functional reactive end-groups, and these bio-active peptides may have greater potentialities in various food and pharmaceutical applications.

The influence of microwave blanching (MWB) at different times (30–120 s) on the physicochemical properties, microstructure, and drying characteristics of apple slices, compared to steam blanching (SB) was investigated. Results showed that MWB resulted in greater weight loss and more efficient enzyme inactivation efficiency than SB. The MWB process facilitated the moisture diffusion, resulting in a significant ( p  < 0.05) reduction in drying time of up to 27.78 % and specific energy consumption of up to 50.00 %. Microstructural observations confirmed that this result stemmed from the development of microporous channels within the cellular tissue structure. The Page model exhibited a higher applicability to the drying of apple slices. Moreover, MWB was more effective than SB in inhibiting browning and retaining phenolic compounds. However, concerning amino acid retention, the dried samples treated with SB for 30 s (21.36 ± 0.83 mg/g DW) showed superior performance compared to dried samples treated with MWB. In addition, molecular docking results suggested that amino acids could form the distinctive flavor of dried apple slices through hydrogen bonding with taste receptors.

Bagasse, peels and seeds from fruits are usually discarded as byproducts. However, these byproducts contain high levels of bioactive compounds. The objective of this study was to microencapsulate bioactive compounds from acerola byproducts by spray drying (SD) and freeze-drying (FD) using maltodextrin (MD), gum arabic (GA), and whey protein isolate (WPI) as carrier agents and then evaluate their stability in a gelatin food-model system. Moisture, solubility, and hygroscopicity of the powders were 5.02–10.05 %, 78.83–92 %, and 7.64–14.76 %, respectively. The best method for obtaining phenolic compounds and flavonoids was SD/GA, which yielded 1855.11 mg GAE/100 g and 289.38 μg/g of quercetin. The best method for obtaining anthocyanins was FD/GA, which yielded 33.85 mg of cy-3-glu/100 g. Powder dried by SD/MD could be used as a natural dye. Our results show that acerola byproducts has potential for reuse, and microencapsulation is a good technique for generating stable extracts.

Macroporous resins are employed for the purification of polyphenolic extracts. However, the relationship between the adsorption and desorption and the textural properties remains unexplored. Thus, we evaluated the textural properties of HP-20, XAD-16 and SP-825 resins and their impact on adsorption and desorption of specific polyphenols like gallic acid, epigallocatechin, and procyanidin B2. The HP-20 resin exhibited a type II isotherm with macroporous structure, while XAD-16 and SP-825 resins displayed type IV isotherms, typically associated with mesoporous materials. The HP-20 resin demonstrated superior adsorption capacity and rupture points for epigallocatechin (2.37 mg/g, 124 min) and procyanidin B2 (1.29 mg/g, 136 min) compared to SP-825 and XAD-16. Contrary, the SP-825 resin exhibited the highest adsorption capacity (5.34 mg/g) and rupture point (68 min) for gallic acid. However, the desorption was more efficient when HP-20 resin was used for all specific polyphenols. Therefore, for an efficient purification process is necessary to consider the chemical structure of the polyphenol and the textural properties.

The aim of this study was to develop a stable palm carotene-based emulsion using the rice protein isolate-flaxseed gum complex (RPI-FG) with different ratios (3:1, 5:1, 7:1, 9:1, 11:1). RPI achieved highest solubility at pH 12. Meanwhile, RPI-FG complex shows low turbidity value from pH 6 to 12 for all ratios. Emulsion with ratio 7:1 exhibited 33 % droplet size increment throughout 7 days storage and evenly distributed based on the microstructure images. For creaming index (CI), all emulsion shows 0 % separation on day zero except emulsion with ratio 11:1 (1.90 %) and lowest CI on day 7 was 9.05 % in ratio 3:1. Furthermore, emulsion activity index and emulsion stability index of the emulsions decreased significantly with the reduced of FG in the formulation. These results suggested that carotene-based emulsion fabricated using RPI-FG complex with ratio of 7:1 exhibited the highest emulsion stability and could be further applied in aqueous food systems.

In this study, chestnuts were processed into flour, and the obtained chestnut flour (CF) was passed through a sieve with an aperture size of 212 µm. Then the physicochemical properties, digestible and resistant starch contents of CF1 (<212 µm), CF2 (≥212 µm), and commercial chestnut flour (CCF) were determined. It was found that CCF had the highest values in terms of proximate composition, total soluble polyphenol content (891.25 mg GAE/100 g), and antioxidant activity (ABTS: 1552.11 mg TE/100 g, DPPH: 2003.01 mg TE/100 g). On the other hand, CF1 was superior in terms of resistant starch content (39.31 g/100 g, dw) ( p  < 0.05). The resistant starch content of CF1 was approximately 1.5-fold and 3-fold higher than CCF and CF2, respectively. Furthermore, the rapidly digestible starch content of CF1 (2.1 g/100 g, dw) and CF2 (0.93 g/100 g, dw) was quite lower than CCF (12.64 g/100 g, dw) ( p  < 0.05). Moreover, CF1 exhibited lower ( p  < 0.05) water, alkaline water, and sodium carbonate retention capacities, which make it a potential good flour for cookie and cracker production. In contrast, CF2 could be evaluated as a good ingredient for noodle-type foods due to its lower water solubility index. Considering the least gelation concentrations of samples, it was seen that CF1 (% 10) could also be valorized as a thickening or gelation agent in the food industry, as well as CCF (% 6).