Abstract

Proteins are one of the most commonly used biomaterials in food technology especially in food packaging, coatings, and additives. They are outstanding candidates for producing innovative food components due to their immense nutritional properties, molecular characteristics, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and generally recognized as safe status. Numerous application examples of protein-based films and coatings in food packaging also approve their significant role in food packaging materials. Sericin is a natural silk globular protein, which is usually discarded as a biological waste material after removing the fibroin for making silk products from the silk cocoon. In the current investigation, an attempt has been made to extract this usually wasted silk protein from the silk cocoon, purify it and study its potential applications in the food sector as a food packaging material. The sericin was extracted from the silk cocoon by the degumming method. The protein concentration of the extracted crude sericin sample was estimated by the standard Lowry’s method using the bovine serum albumin as the reference standard. Linearity was obtained (R² > 0.99), and the protein concentration of the crude sericin was found out to be 3.60 % (W/V). The purification of the crude protein was carried out by dialysis using a cellulose tubing with a molecular weight cutoff of 12 kDa, followed by freeze-drying. The protein concentration of the purified sericin was found out to be 0.64 % (W/V). Following extraction, sericin can be used as the food packaging material. Proteins especially sericin which is a byproduct, can provide a low-cost and naturally occurring raw material to be used as green formulation ingredients in the food industry as a food packaging material. Further research is under process to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of the extracted sericin and study its applications like food packaging materials.

Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2020R1G1A1004667), the Republic of Korea.

Approximately 19.3 million people were diagnosed with cancer and about 10 million people died of cancer in 2020. The evaluations of the International Agency for Research on Cancer on carcinogenic risks have identified several carcinogens so far, but the etiology of cancer is still not sufficiently elucidated. The nutritional composition of ultra-processed food and worldwide increase in its consumption have prompted research into its impact on health. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of colorectal, breast and prostate cancer associated with high consumption of ultra-processed food. A comprehensive literature search of PubMed database was performed, using the keywords “ultra-processed food” and “cancer”. Abstracts and full-texts were screened for inclusion and there were no language restrictions. Studies conducted in humans and designed as case-control or cohort studies were included. Exclusion criteria were studies not done in humans, reviews, case-reports. Exposure of interest was high level of consumption of ultra-processed food. Outcome of interest was occurrence of cancer (colorectal, breast, prostate). We extracted estimates from models which were adjusted for most variables. Meta-analyses were performed using the generic inverse variance method, producing a pooled Hazard Ratio (HR) with 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI). All analyses were done in Review Manager, version 5.4.1. High consumption of ultra-processed food was significantly associated with the risk of colorectal cancer (HR=1.26, 95%CI 1.14-1.39, p < 0.00001). The risk for breast cancer was increased but not significantly (HR=1.14, 95%CI 0.99-1.32, p=0.08) in persons consuming ultra-processed food, while the risk was not increased for prostate cancer (HR=0.98, 95%CI 0.84-1.15, p=0.82). The results of this meta-analysis show that the risk of colorectal cancer is significantly increased in persons with high consumption of ultra-processed food. To the best of our knowledge this is the first meta-analysis which investigated the risk for colorectal, breast and prostate cancer and high level of consumption of ultra-processed food. However, the limitation of the present analysis is the small number of included studies identified using only one database, mainly due to the novelty of the research question, still no heterogeneity was detected. Further research is necessary in order to evaluate the role of ultra-processed food in the occurrence of cancer.

Enrichment of bread with Lycium barbarum (goji) puree

Monica Rosa Loizzo^1,*, Antonio Mincione², Rosa Tundis¹ and Vincenzo Sicari²

¹Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy. (Email: [email protected])

²Department of Agraria, University “Mediterranea” of Reggio Calabria, Salita Melissari, Feo di Vito, Reggio Calabria (RC), 89124, Italy

Abstract

With a great variety of foods on the market, the consumer’s responsibility is choose food that can allow him to maintain his state of health and prevent chronic diseases. For this reason, several functional foods classified as fortified or enriched foods are developed In fact, the functional food market size is estimated to reach $267,924.4 million by 2027 [1]. Functional foods are able to provide essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and bioactive substances. The opportunities for incorporating these bioactive constituents into bread have grown rapidly as bread is the staple food in many countries. Lycium barbarum (goji) berries are a source of phytochemicals with important biological functions and are designated as super-fruits [2]. The aim of the study was to add goji puree at different percentages (50 and 70%) to the bread dough. To evaluate the characteristics of bread enriched in goji puree, chemical-physical, sensory, rheological analysis and radical scavenging activity test were carried out [3,4] The best results were obtained with the sample enriched with 50% of goji puree (B50G) that showed a total phenol content of 42.07 mg gallic acid equivalent /100 g bread and am ABTS radical scavenging activity of 833.48 µmol Trolox/ 100g bread. Bread sensory profile was identified by a trained panel using quantitative descriptive analysis, showing significant differences compared to the untreated sample in crust and crumb colour and for structural crunchiness, while olfactory and gustatory descriptors did not differ significantly. Furthermore, the enriched product is characterized by a higher content of bioactive substances with particular references to phenolic compounds and by an interesting antioxidant activity. The absence of substantial changes on the sensory profile will represent another fundamental and appreciated aspect by the consumers. Collectively, our results demonstrated the potential health properties of this enriched bread.

[1] Functional Food Market by Ingredient (Probiotics, Minerals, Proteins & Amino Acids, Prebiotics, & Dietary Fibers, Vitamins and Others), Product (Bakery & Cereals, Dairy Products, Meat, Fish & Eggs, Soy Products, Fats & Oils and Others), Application (Sports Nutrition, Weight Management Clinical Nutrition, Cardio Health, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2021–2027, (https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/functional-food-market, access 24 June 2021); [2] Yao, R.; Heinrich, M.; Weckerle, C.S. (2015). The genus Lycium as food and medicine: A botanical, ethnobotanical and historical review. J. Ethnopharmacol., 212, 50-66. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jep.2017.10.010. Epub 2017 Oct 16. PMID: 29042287. [3] Carullo, G.; Scarpelli, F.; Belsito, E.L.; Caputo, P.; Oliviero Rossi, C.; Mincione, A.; Leggio, A.; Crispini, A.; Restuccia, D.; Spizzirri, U.G.; Aiello, F. Formulation of New Baking (+)-Catechin Based Leavening Agents: Effects on Rheology, Sensory and Antioxidant Features during Muffin Preparation. Foods 2020, 9, 1569. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111569; [4] Sicari, V.; Pellicanò, T.M.; Laganá, V.; Poiana, M. (2018). Use of orange by‐products (dry peel) as an alternative gelling agent for marmalade production: Evaluation of antioxidant activity and inhibition of HMF formation during different storage temperature. J. Food Proces. Preserv. 42. e13429. 10.1111/jfpp.13429.

The Covid-19 pandemic leads to several changes that affected not only emotional and psychological well being but also eating behavior. Herein, we sought to evaluate if depicting pandemic-related sanitary measures in a food consumption video would impact food appraisal, decreasing food attractiveness and the desire to eat. Participants performed, in two different days, an online protocol in which foods presented in a video, and following, in pictures, should be evaluated regarding visual aspect, expected smell and taste and desire to eat. The videos presented each day differed only regarding the presence/absence of sanitary elements adopted during the pandemic, composing the Covid/Non-Covid conditions. In both conditions sweet and high calorie foods were better evaluated when compared to salty and low calorie ones, being the sweet food evaluation higher in Non-Covid condition when compared to in Covid-condition. Only in Non-Covid condition the reported desire to eat was higher immediately after the video, and in both conditions it was higher at the end of the task when compared to baseline. Correlation analysis suggests that depression and anxiety symptoms may reduce smell appreciation of foods presented in the pandemic scenario. We conclude that food perception is affected by the presence of the sanitary measures adopted during the pandemic by reducing the desire to eat and food hedonic appreciation and further, that depression and anxiety symptoms may be related to higher negative impact of the pandemic in eating behavior.

Background: A significant part of vitamin D, which is necessary for important vital processes, a person receives with food. Vitamin D affects the proper functioning of the lungs and the immune system, which can be important in the development, severity and course of allergic diseases (asthma, eczema and food allergies). In the past two years, many studies have appeared that deal with the effect of vitamin D levels in the body on the severity of COVID-19.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the presence of vitamin D-containing foods in the diets of young people and the appearance of allergic diseases symptoms.

Methods: The study was a cross- sectional descriptive survey. Respondents included in the study were 223 first year students of Kharkiv State University of Food Technology and Trade for the years 2017-2021. Data collection was carried out by conducting two parallel questionnaires A and B. Using questionnaire A, the frequency of consumption and food preferences were assessed in relation to 22 vitamin D-containing foods. The assessment was carried out on a 5-point scale. Also, students were offered a questionnaire B, which was developed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health for the screening of allergic diseases. Before analysis of data the internal consistency and trait validity of the instrument was carried out.

Results: Analysis of the results showed that the consumption of foods rich in vitamin D is at a lower level than the respondents' desire to consume them. Consumption of vitamin D-containing foods such as cod liver, fish oil, and many types of fish is very low. It was revealed that the main food source of vitamin D is chicken eggs. This fact speaks in favor of the fact that young people in Ukraine experience a certain lack of vitamin D.

Analysis of questionnaires for screening allergic diseases showed that, depending on the year of the survey, 60-72% of the respondents had symptoms of allergic diseases. The survey also showed that in the period from 2018 to 2021, the regular intake of vitamin D increased from 7% to 15%. Statistical methods were used to assess the correlation between the studied factors.

Conclusion: The survey suggests that foods rich in vitamin D are not among the preferences of young people. As a consequence, there is a definite relationship between the presence of vitamin D deficiency in young people and a high percentage of respondents with allergic diseases symptoms.