Bio-preservation methods based on the use of natural extracts have been proposed as hurdles to increase the safety of many food products. The objective of this work was to study the phytochemical profile, biological activity, and antioxidant potential of six plant extracts, and their ability to be used as food preservatives.

In this sense, rosemary, lemon balm, basil, tarragon, sage, and spearmint dry aerial parts were mechanically grinded. The extractions were performed using a sample/solvent ratio of 1:20, in a shaking water bath (at 150 rpm) at 60 °C for 90 min, and a Soxhlet apparatus (7 recycles), with ethanol 70% (v/v) (Et70%) and distilled water (dH₂O) as solvents in both methods. The influence of the distinct extraction methods and solvents on the total phenolic content (TPC, determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (determined by FRAP, ABTS•+ and DPPH assays) of the natural extracts was evaluated. Identification and quantification of phenolic compounds was achieved by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography.

The results show that both methodologies and solvents are adequate to obtain bioactive extracts. The TPC of water bath extracts was similar regardless of the solvent, apart from spearmint and sage extracts (higher TPC in ethanolic extracts). Alternatively, higher differences were observed in the TPC of Soxhlet extracts depending on the solvent, as aqueous extracts revealed greater TPC values. The TFC revealed differences due to the solvent for both methods: for water bath extracts, Et70% lead to higher TFC; while for Soxhlet extracts, dH₂O delivered extracts with greater TFC. Regarding antioxidant activity, all extracts showed promising results.

These outcomes provide insight on the phytochemical profile and biological activity of plant extracts and their value as bio-preservatives to be included in foods, thus encouraging the food industry to replace chemical preservatives with others that are plant-based.

Cultivating ancient crops improves food security by diversifying our staple foods. An example of ancient Philippine crops is the kabog millet, an ecotype of Panicum miliaceum. Little is known about its nutritional quality; hence, the nutritional value of kabog millet was analysed in comparison to rice (white, brown, red, and black rice) and to a reference millet sourced from local supermarkets in Switzerland. We found that whole grain kabog millet has dietary fibre and ash content almost three times of black rice, protein levels almost double of white rice and 1.5 times higher than black rice, total phenolic acid content more than double than black rice and more than five times higher than the reference millet, and total carotenoid content that is almost 2.5 times higher than the reference millet and almost five times higher than black rice. To assess the antioxidant activity, DPPH, ABTS, and ORAC were used. The antioxidant activities of the whole kabog millet were significantly higher than the rice samples and the reference millet in all three assays. By giving attention to underutilised, ancient crops, we are not only saving biodiversity and our planet, but we are also breathing new life into these forgotten ancient treasures.

The study aimed to evaluate the effects of process parameters (time and raw material weight[RMW]) of conventional (boiling for 10- 45 min) and microwave-assisted (2-15 min) aqueous extraction (MAE) on the color quality (i.e. lightness [L*], chroma [C*] and hue [H°] of anthocyanin –based colorants of red and Inubi sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) leaves. Using response surface methodology (RSM), it was found that RMW and boiling time (BT) and microwave time (MT) generally had a significant (p<0.05) effect on the color quality of the extract from both extraction methods. The effects were found to be varying depending on the extraction method and variety of the leaves used. The red sweet potato leaves produced a deep violet colored extract that also turns red violet when acidified. It is recommended that the anthocyanin content of the extracts be measured to validate the impact of the methods on the active agent. Nevertheless, the outcomes in this study may serve as baseline data for further studies on the potential of sweet potato leaf colorants (SPLC) as a colorant with functional properties.

Faba beans are one of the most consumed legumes and an emerging source of edible legume-based protein. Efficacy of faba bean protein concentrate (available protein ~ 63 %) during UHT processing of homogenised O/W emulsion was assessed in the present study by using four different concentrations viz., FPC5 ~ 5 %, FPC6 ~ 6 %, FPC7 ~ 7 %, and FPC8 ~ 8 %. Additionally, the physicochemical properties of emulsion at various processing stages viz., coarse, homogenised, and UHT was also measured. Overall, this study showed the potential use of faba bean protein as a replica of soy protein in UHT processed legume-based beverages.

Brassica vegetables are of particular interest not only for their nutritional profile but also as a source of health-promoting bioactives. However, its bitter taste affects its acceptability by the consumer prompting the development of novel varieties with better acceptability such as Bimi®. Elicitors have been used to stimulate the biosynthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites in plant-foods. Nevertheless, little is known about the response of these new hybrid varieties. To this point, a study was designed to evaluate the effects of elicitors (200 µM salicylic acid (SA), 100 µM Methyl-Jasmonate (MeJA) and their combination), on the composition of Bimi® (Brassica oleracea var. italica x Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra). For this purpose, the composition of the glucosinolates present in Bimi® samples obtained from experimental farm under climatic conditions of Mediterranean SE Spain, by evaluating edible florets and vegetative tissues (leaves) were studied. The plant material was used to elaborate extracts to study the stability and bioaccesibility of the glucosinolates in Bimi® by using gastrointestinal simulated digester system and further RP-HPLC-ESI-MSn analysis. In order to improve the stability, the protective effect of a novel bioencapsulation system using plant material (plasma membrane vesicles obtained from Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) was also evaluated. Premilinary results are encouraging more research for the development of stable and bioaccessible ingredients from Brassica for health-promoting activities using natural matrices for encapsulation.

One of the great challenges for the food industry is to obtain healthier processed foods. This is very important for the meat industry, where there is an urgent need to give healthier meat products (“valued-added meat products”).

From this point of view, the use of flours derived from Andean products could be an alternative. Molecules with a potential beneficial effect on human health have been reported in maca (Lepidium meyenii) (dietary fibre, Mg, Ca, K, functional polysaccharides, etc.) and amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) (squalene, linoleic acid, P, Ca, K, Mg, dietary fibre, etc.). However, from an industrial point of view, these new ingredients must be characterized in their techno-functional properties. The objective of this work was to analyze the techno-functional parameters of the amaranth and maca flours (NI) whole (I) flours, in terms of water holding capacity (WHC, g / g), oil holding capacity (OHC, g / g), foaming capacity (FC,%) and emulsifying capacity (EC, mL). The results indicated that the highest values ​​for WHC and OHC were obtained in maca flour (NI) with 2.45 g of retained water / g of sample and 1.02 g of absorbed oil / g of sample, respectively. Meanwhile, for the variables FC and EC, the highest values ​​were obtained for amaranth (NI) with 16.67% and amaranth (I) with 139.44 mL, respectively. Therefore, the results obtained allow us to consider the incorporation of these types of flours to different food products, knowing their effect on WHC, OHC, EC and pH and therefore being able to modify the processes concerning the traditional ones. This is especially interesting in the case of the meat products elaboration process in which, these parameters could be critical, with the addition of these type of flours.

Chia mucilage is a new ingredient with a lot of new applications and so its extraction from seeds generates a great amount of coproducts (CSWM) which composition made it suitable for the meat industry. In this work, the effect of the addition of CSWM and whole chia seeds (WCS) in a dry-cured sausage (DCS) upon its physicochemical properties has been evaluated (4 processing days). Several concentrations of WCS and CSWM (0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5%) were added. pH, water activity (Aw), residual nitrite level (RNL), and the 2-Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay and moisture content were determined. WCS and CSWM addition in DCS decreased the pH values in all the samples. For RNL, the values decreased along time without differences between samples. Although all the samples reached at day 4, a weight loss of 30% (industrial criteria for sausages commercialization), any of them did not reach Aw values to be considered as intermediate moisture foods (≤0,90). Samples with chia added showed lower TBA values than control. CSWM can be used as an ingredient for DCS showing the same effect upon its physicochemical properties than WCS and so it could be an interesting way to valorize this coproduct.

AGL2016-75687-C2-2-R (MCI/AEI/FEDER/UE). HealthyMeat network, CYTED-119RT0568.

The contribution of nanomaterials to the development of food packaging systems has been enormous in last years. Nanomaterial, defined as material having one or more dimensions in the range 1–100 nm. Materials at the nano scale cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor even with a conventional light microscope. Nano-sized materials change their optical, magnetic, electrical, and other properties and for this reason are widely used in food packaging. A variety of nanomaterials find many applications, in food preservation extending the shelf life of foods and increasing preservation time. Nanoparticles (NPs), nanocomposites (NCs), nanoclays (NCs), nanoemulsions (NEs), nanosensors (NSs), and nanostructures (NSTs) (including nanoliposomes, nanospheres, nanocapsules, nanofibers, and nanotubes) are some of the important nanomaterials that have been used in food packaging and preservation. Nanomaterials can offer solutions in food packaging and preservation, through active and smart packaging, edible coatings and the development of a wide range of capable nanosystems. Therefore, nanomaterials can be considered as important tools and efficient options for controlling, limiting and improving safety parameters and food quality that is highly desirable in food technology. Innovative nanomaterials even achieve real-time food quality monitoring, providing an efficient option in food preservation applications. The use of these materials in food preservation is an emerging trend that raises significant inconveniences, as some of them, through ingestion, inhalation and exposure end up in the human body. Food preservation in all cases should be related to materials that are completely safe and compatible with food systems. The toxicological risk posed by the use of nanomaterials in food packaging and in particular in the case of edible nano-packaging, is significantly linked to the migration phenomenon as well as the occurrence of toxic effects on the exposed human body.

With the modern and accelerated way of life, frying has become an extremely common way of food preparation. In the frying process hot oil or fat serves as a heat transfer medium. Ideal fat in all frying processes doesn't exist due to differences in the chemical composition of the product, process conditions, expected nutritive value and shelf life of the final product. During frying, physical and chemical changes simultaneously occur changing the chemical composition of edible oils. The food is immersed in hot fat, in the presence of air, where the frying medium is directly affected by three agents: moisture from the food, atmospheric oxygen and high temperature. Reactions that occur are: hydrolysis, auto-oxidation, thermal oxidation and thermal decomposition, and the products that occur affect various physical and chemical changes in fats, as well as in fryed food. The quality and oxidative stability of vegetable oils or their resistance to changes caused by oxidative processes is the time during which oils can be protected from the (auto)oxidation process. Analytical methods used in practice to determine the oxidative stability of oils are: accelerated oil oxidation test (Rancimat test and OSI index) and Schaal-oven test. In this paper, the possibilities of improving refined sunflower oil in order to obtain oil with greater application in the food frying process are examined. Standard refined sunflower oil, sunflower oil with altered fatty acid composition, as well as sunflower oil enriched with natural and synthetic antioxidants were tested. The obtained results were compared with palmolein, commonly used for food frying. Of the tested sunflower oils, high-oleic sunflower oil with an iodine value (IV) of 85 g/100 g, OSI index of 9.3 and total oxidation (TOTOX) index of 4.73 increased 6.66 times after exposure to frying proved to be the most similar to palmolein (IV=57 g/100g; OSI=17.8; TOTOX=7.60).

Bee pollen is an apiary product of great interest owing to its high nutritional and therapeutic properties and represents an important source of energy, bioactive compounds, and proteins for human nutrition¹. In a previous study, we evaluated the botanical origin, phytochemical profile, and free-radical scavenging activity of polyfloral Tuscan bee pollen separated by color into three botanical families, mainly Castanea, Rubus, and Cistus².

This study aimed to assess the antioxidant activity and the anti-hemolytic effects of Castanea, Rubus, and Cistus bee pollen on oxidized human erythrocytes through the CAA-RBC (Cellular Antioxidant Activity in Red Blood Cells) and hemolysis tests. Besides, we analyzed the antimicrobial potential of each sample on three Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium, and Enterobacter aerogenes) and two Gram-positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus) by evaluating the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Finally, the effect of Castanea bee pollen, showing the highest phytochemical content, was analyzed on human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) exposed to thapsigargin, a plant-derived sesquiterpene lactone used to induce endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER-stress).

Our results showed good biological activities of all bee pollen samples that, under oxidative conditions, significantly improved the erythrocytes antioxidant activity also protecting them from the cell lysis. Our results demonstrated comparable Castanea and Cistus anti-hemolytic activities, with higher % hemolysis inhibition than Rubus bee pollen at similar doses. Moreover, all bee pollen extracts exerted antimicrobial activity with different selectivity among tested microorganisms and MIC values ranging from 5 to 10 mg/ml. Finally, our findings showed that thapsigargin treatment did not affect the HMEC-1 viability, while increased the intracellular ROS production, and up-regulated the expression of factors involved in the ER stress and inflammatory pathway (CHOP, IL-6, COX-2, and ICAM-1). Conversely, Castanea bee pollen was effective in reducing the CHOP, IL-6, COX-2, and ICAM-1 overexpression, as well the oxidation process arising from thapsigargin treatment, with maximum protective effect at 10µg/ml.

In conclusion, polyfloral Tuscan bee pollen, mainly Castanea and Cistus species, represents a good natural antibacterial and a potential nutraceutical product useful in the prevention of free radical and ER stress-associated diseases.

_References

_{1. Abouda Z., Zerdani I., Kalalou I., Faid M., Ahami M.T. The antibacterial activity of Moroccan bee bread and bee-pollen (Fresh and Dried) against pathogenic bacteria. Res J Microbiol. 2011, 6, 376-384.}

_{2. Gabriele M, Parri E, Felicioli A, Sagona S, Pozzo L, Biondi C, Domenici V, Pucci L. Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of Tuscan bee pollen of different botanic origins. Ital J Food Sci. 2015, 27, 248-59.}