Avocado has become fashionable due to its great properties. It is consumed as a fresh product and it is also processed to obtain salad oil and guacamole. In all cases, the only usable portion is the pulp. Therefore, to be a more sustainable and profitable agribusiness, it is important to recognize which compounds from the peel and the stones waste can be converted into valuable bio-products. Therefore, their chemical composition was determined according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the total phenolic content by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and the antioxidant properties by the FRAP and TEAC assays.

The main components of the peel and stones were acid-insoluble lignin (35.0 and 15.3%, respectively), polymeric sugars (23.6 and 43.9%, respectively), and the aqueous extractives (15.5% and 16.9%, respectively). Both biomasses contain lipids and protein, but a minor proportion (<6%). The valorization of lignin and sugars is of interest given the high content; particularly, stones are a rich source of glucose (93.2% of the polymeric fraction), which could be used to obtain biofuels or derivatives of interest. The extractive fraction of the peels contained the highest amount of phenolic compounds (4.7 g/100 g biomass), mainly, concentrated in the aqueous fraction (i.e. 87%) compared to the ethanol one, which was subsequently extracted. It correlated with a major antioxidant activity and thereby the peels can be applied to obtain antioxidants and water can be used as an environmentally friendly extraction solvent.

Edible flowers are often more mentioned in connection with biologically active substances and their presence is today frequent in supermarket. The main factor that determines the purchase of edible flowers by consumers is their appearance, so particular attention must be paid to the shelf life. The potential number of suitable species is very high (over 1,000) and some species are also present in the spontaneous flora of Mediterranean environment.

Flowers must be protected from desiccation and their quality preserved, so the aims of this study were to evaluate the shelf life of the spontaneous edible flowers Glebionis segetum, Malva sylvestris, Papaver rhoeas and Tropaeolum majus and detect the presence of major polyphenols. The flowers have been packaged with polypropylene (PP) bags and then stored in a refrigerator at +4±1°C. Samples were tested in the dark and in the presence of light for 12 days.

Gas composition, weight loss and colour have been registered once the packages have been opened; the flower petals were frozen for antioxidant activity, total phenols and enzymatic analyses. Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) were performed.

As expected the light has always a negative influence, the weight loss was limited and the gas composition did not change too much during shelf life, with different variation in the studied edible flowers.

Image analysis was performed to describe color changes and the highest variation in color parameters (Red Green Blue) was found in control samples. The extracts from Glebionis segetum showed the highest antioxidant activity and polyphenol content. Also enzymatic results pointed out the PP as best packaging film if considered in the dark. Glebionis segetum was the most resistant but it had also the highest weight loss, Papaver rhoeas was characterized by extreme fragility, Malva sylvestris was not able to tolerate low temperatures and Tropaeolum majus changed its color progressively with the time.

Pectin is well-known plant-based hydrocolloid extensively used in food and beverage industry for formation and/or enhancement of product texture and stability. Versatile functionalities of different pectin types (e.g. gelling, thickening, colloidal stabilization) are predetermined by their structure. The aim of this work was to explore possibility to alter structure of pectin by pilot-scale ultra-high dynamic pressure treatment, as a physical modification approach, and potentially enhance its functionality.

Therefore, high esterified apple (AP) and citrus pectin (CP) were treated by ultra-high pressure homogenizer (UHPH) at three different pressure levels and characterized with respect to their apparent viscosity, gelling behavior (gelation time, temperature and melting point), gel strength, molecular weight (MW) and on-line viscosity using size-exclusions chromatography coupled to refractive index, light scattering and online differential viscometer. The results of the study indicated that UHPH impacted the MW in a source dependent manner. Treated CP and AP pectin exhibited a small decrease in the average MW and a more pronounced decrease in the intrinsic viscosity, likely due to more significant UHPH effect on the larger pectin molecules. In addition the smaller (in volume) AP pectin presented a more compact conformation in solution. On the macroscopic level, those changes resulted in decreased gelation time and increased gelation temperature. Even though treatment caused decrease in apparent viscosity and gel strength of CP pectin, it had not significant effect on AP pectin.

From the results, it can be concluded that UHPH process has a potential to modify the functionality of pectins, but further research is needed in order to elucidate all the changes and potential benefits of this ubiquitous and multifunctional hydrocolloid.

The main autochthonous Portuguese sheep breeds exploited for meat production are Churra-Galega-Bragançana (CGB) and Bordaleira-de-Entre-Douro-e-Minho (BEDM), whose quality must be optimised in order to ensure adequate income levels for sheep producers. The study aimed to elucidate how intrinsic properties affected the evolution of spoilage microorganisms in refrigerated vacuum-packed (VP) lamb meat from BEDM and CGB breeds. Thirty CGB and 30 BEDM lambs were four months old when slaughtered. Physicochemical analyses (i.e., pH, water activity and proximate composition) were performed on meat on day 1 after slaughter, while microbial counts (mesophiles, psychrotrophic, lactic acid bacteria and Pseudomonas spp.) were essayed on VP meat on days 3, 9 and 15. Mixed-effects models were adjusted to each of the microbial groups to assess the effect of breed, time of maturation and each of the intrinsic properties of meat, in separate. Breed had a significant effect on all microbial groups (p<.0001): meat from BEDM breed presented higher (p<.0001) populations of mesophiles, lactic acid bacteria, Pseudomonas spp. and psychrotrophic bacteria, since its higher ultimate pH (means: 5.77 for BEDM vs. 5.58 for CGB) accelerated spoilage rate (p<.0001). While water activity and protein content were not found to modulate microbial deterioration (p>0.05), the growth of spoilage bacteria was found to be exacerbated by higher moisture (p<.0001) and higher ashes content (p<0.001). By contrast, a higher fat content retarded (p<.0001) the growth of spoilage bacteria in VP lamb meat. In order to extend the shelf-life of Portuguese-origin lamb meat, animal handling must be enhanced to minimise pre-slaughter stress, and a carcass classification system should be adopted towards the selection of fatter animals and chilled carcasses of optimal ultimate pH.

Phenols are by-products resulting from the petrochemical industry, they can occasionally appear as pollutants in rivers and seas and enter the food chain [1]. A typical characteristic of these pollutants is that they bioaccumulate in media and in bodies. The main harmful effect of the accumulation of these are mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, although a large amount of them can cause acute effects [2]. Phenols are colourless compounds, which could be detected by UV-VIS spectrometry using a reagent that reacts with them, giving rise to a coloured compound, as has been done in other experiments with pollutants [3]. The problem with this spectroscopic method is that it does not allow multiple detection of phenols because the presence of several phenols in the same sample prevents the determination. Therefore, a method based on SERS (surface-enhanced-Raman spectroscopy) has been proposed. In this way, the compound resulting from the reaction between Gibbs reagent (dbqc) and the phenol derivative used could be quantified, using SERS spectroscopy. For this, substrates of 60 nm gold nanospheres were used that allowed to amplify the signal. The experiment was tested for the case of phenol, o-cresol and 1-naphthol, and their binary and ternary mixtures. It has been possible to quantify individual samples up to 5 µm of each phenol derivative using principal component analysis (PCA), using this same technique it has been possible to quantify binary samples up to this same quantity and perform a semi-quantitative method that allows the detection of the presence of a mixture of these three phenols.

The killer strains of Torulaspora delbrueckii can be used to improve the dominance of this yeast during must fermenta­tion. The present work analyzes its usefulness for traditional spar­kling wine making (base wine and cava). T. delbrueckii killer strain dominated base wine fermentation better than non-killer strains and produced dried wines. The foam ability of T. delbrueckii base wines was very low compa­red to that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Significant posi­tive correlations of foam parameters were found with the amounts of C4-C16 ethyl esters and proteins, and negative correlations with some antifoam alcohols. The organoleptic quality of T. delbrueckii base wines was considered inap­propriate for cava making. While S. cerevisiae (alone or mixed with T. delbrueckii) completed the second fermen­tation to produce dry sparkling wines with high CO₂ pres­sure, T. delbrueckii alone did not complete this fermen­tation, leaving sweet wines with low CO₂ pressure. Death due to CO₂ pressure was much higher in T. delbrueckii than in S. cerevisiae, making any killer effect of S. cerevi­siae on T. delbrueckii irrelevant. However, the organo­leptic quality of cava inoculated with mixtures of the two yeast species was better than that of wine inocula­ted exclusively with S. cerevisiae, and no deterioration in the quality of the foam was observed.

Okara, the residue of the production of tofu and soybean milk, is rich in dietary fibers (DFs) and phytochemical components such as soy isoflavones and soyasaponins. Despite its nutritive value, okara is scarcely used as a food source as the DFs in okara are mostly insoluble and have adverse effects on food texture. Thus, improving the physicochemical properties of okara for various applications in foods is of great importance. Here, okara were atomized using a wet-type grinder (WG) that is commonly used to produce nanocelluloses (NCs). We treated 2 wt% okara with the WG at different passages (1−5 times). The particle size distribution (PSD) and viscosity of WG-treated okara decreased and increased, respectively, with passages up to 3 times. In addition, we treated okara with the WG at different concentrations (1−3 wt%). The viscosity of WG-treated okara increased with increasing concentrations. The WG-treated okara also dispersed in water homogeneously at more than 2 wt% after 24 h, whereas untreated and 1% WG-treated okara did not. The soybean protein isolate (SPI) gels were not formed without sodium chloride (NaCl). The breaking stress and strain increased with NaCl concentrations up to 0.2% and then decreased. The addition of 1% okara treated at different passages by the WG increased the breaking stress and strain of SPI gels with increasing of passages. The breaking stress and strain of SPI gels were also increased with increasing WG-treated okara concentrations up to 1%. These results indicate the possibilities that the NC technologies can improve the physicochemical properties of okara and are useful to develop protein gel-based foods.

Helicteres hirsuta Lour. (H. hirsuta) has been used traditionally as a folk medicine for treating a range of common diseases such as furuncle treatment, pain relief, dysentery, measles, flu, anti-malaria and anti-obesity in some Asian countries, revealing that this plant material contains important bioactive compounds, which are linked with health benefits and/or can act as therapeutic agents. Hence, many attempts have been made to isolate and identify the key bioactive compounds present in H. hirsuta and conduct in vitro tests to investigate their biological activities. We recently revealed that H. hirsuta leaf contained high levels of total phenolic content [192.6 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g] and total flavonoid content [215.2 mg catechin equivalents (CE)/g]. The stem of H. hirsuta also had high contents of TPC and TFC (212.6 mg GAE/g and 280.1 mg CE/g, respectively). The results also revealed that phenolic compounds from this plant had a strong positive correlation with antioxidant capacity including DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (R² range of 0.78 and 0.99), which are known to link with diverse bioactivities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, antiobesity and antidiabetic effects. Additionally, H. hirsuta leaf and stem were found to contain high levels of saponins (808.0 and 347.5 mg escin equivalents/g, respectively), that were determined using colorimetric assay. Several individual compounds have been identified in the extracts of H. hirsuta, including rutin, methyl caffeate, 5,8-dihydroxy-7,4¢-dimethoxyflavone, isoscutellarein 4¢-methyl ether 8-O-b-D-glucopyranoside, 4,4¢-sulfinylbis(2(tert-butyl)-5-methylphenol), 7-O-methylisoscutellarein, 7,4¢-di-O-methylisoscutellarein, six lignans (pinoresinol, medioresinol, syringaresinol, boehmenan, boehmenan H, and trans-dihydrodiconiferyl alcohol), betulinic acid, 3-O-trans-caffeoylbetulinic acid, 3b-benzoylbetulinic acid, betulinic acid methyl ester, lupeol, 3β-O-acetylbetulinic acid, simiarenol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol. The derived extracts and isolated compounds from this plant have been shown to inhibit the growth of various cancer cell lines in vitro as well as offering a promising source of active compounds for other health problems including obesity, diabetes and malaria. Further studies on the mechanisms of bioactive compounds from this plant are suggested to elucidate their mechanisms of action for health benefits. In addition, more in vivo tests associated with clinical trials are also needed to validate and confirm their effects for further development of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products from this plant material.

They were subjected to rheological analysis (Farinography, amylography, and extensography) in Brabender equipment to 14 experimental treatments of dough mixtures to make sliced ​​bread with partial substitution of wheat flour (WF) by quinoa germinated flour (QGF), kiwicha germinated flour (KGF) and cañihua germinated flour (CGF), following a Simplex Centroid Mixture Design (SCMD) to determine the optimal dough that guarantees a sliced ​​bread with technological and sensory quality. The substitution ranges (R) of the mixtures (M) were: RM1: QGF (5-15%), CGF (5-15%) and WF (80-90%); and RM2: KGF (5-15%), CGF (5-15%) and WF (80-90%). The optimization was carried out by applying the desired function methodology, taking the WF mass as a control, optimizing as a function of development time (min), stability time (min) ¸ resistance to extension (BU), gelatinization temperature (°C ) and maximum gelatinization (AU). The results indicate that the substitution levels influence the technical characteristics necessary to produce functional sliced ​​bread similar to commercially sliced ​​bread. Two optimal mixtures (OM) were determined, being OM1: 87.6% (WF), 5% (KGF) and 7.4% (CGF) and OM2: 84.6% (WF), 5% (QGF ) and 10.4% (CGF).

The hypocholesterolemic effect of milk-based fruit beverages enriched with plant sterols (PS) has previously been demonstrated, obtaining a beneficial effect on the serum inflammatory status as well^[1]. Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) are added to food products due to their healthy benefit by selectively stimulating growth of specific members of the intestinal microbiota^[2]. In PS-enriched milk-based fruit beverages, it has been confirmed that the addition of GOS does not affect the bioaccessibility of total PS after a simulated gastrointestinal digestion^[3], although it should be confirmed by in vivo studies in order to assure their functionality. In this work, the impact of the presence of GOS on the serum levels of cholesterol, its precursors and metabolites, and on the bioavailability of PS has been evaluated by means of a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study with postmenopausal women (n=41, 58±4 years). Volunteers consumed daily 250mL of a PS-enriched beverage (0.8%,w/v) with or without GOS (1.7%,w/v) for 6 weeks and serum samples were collected before and at the end of each intervention period. Total cholesterol serum levels were measured by a routine quality-controlled method^[4] whereas cholesterol precursors (desmosterol and lathosterol) and metabolites (cholestanol), and PS contents (campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol) were measured by GC-FID[1]. Intake of both beverages (without and with GOS addition) led to a statistically significant decrease (p<0.05) in total cholesterol serum levels (4.7-5.1%), without significant differences between beverages. Also, significant increases in serum concentrations of campesterol (13.6-23.5%) and β-sitosterol (35.7-38.8%) were only observed, as markers of dietary PS intake. No significant differences in the percentages of change of any sterol were detected between beverages, suggesting no effect of the presence of GOS on PS bioavailability or cholesterol metabolism. In conclusion, this in vivo study demonstrates the suitability of the simultaneous enrichment of the beverages with PS and GOS considering their potential functional effect.

[1] Alvarez-Sala et al. (2018), ‎ Food Funct., 91: 5209-5219; [2] Gibson et al. (2017), Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol., 14: 491-502; [3] Blanco-Morales et al. (2018), Food Funct., 9: 2080-2089; [4] Granado-Lorencio et al. (2014), Nutr., Metab. Cardiovasc. Dis., 24:1090-1096.

Acknowledgements: This study is part of the National Project AGL2015-68006-C2-1-R, financed by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). Virginia Blanco-Morales holds a research contract under the project AGL2015-68006-C2-1-R (Ref. CPI-17-025).