Mechanisms of heat-mediated aggregation of wheat gluten protein upon pasta processing

During pasta processing, structural changes of protein occur, due to changes in water content, mechanical energy input, and high temperature treatments. The present paper investigates the impact of successive and intense thermal treatments (high temperature drying, cooking, and overcooking) on aggregation of gluten protein in pasta. Protein aggregation was evaluated by the measurement of sensitivity of disulfide bonds toward reduction with dithioerythritol (DTE), at different reactions times. In addition to the loss in protein extractability in sodium dodecyl sulfate buffer, heat treatments induced a drastic change in disulfide bonds sensitivity toward DTE reduction and in size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography profiles of fully reduced protein. The protein solubility loss was assumed to derive from the increasing connectivity of protein upon heat treatments. The increasing degree of protein upon aggregation would be due to the formation of additional interchain disulfide bonds.     

Behavior of Triticum durum Desf. arabinoxylans and arabinogalactan peptides during industrial pasta processing

Three industrial pasta processing lines for different products (macaroni, capellini and instant noodles) were sampled at three subsequent stages (semolina, extruded, and dried end products) in the process. Arabinoxylans (AX) and arabinogalactan peptides (AGP) were analyzed. Although very low endoxylanase activities were measured, the level of water-extractable AX (WE-AX) increased, probably because of mechanical forces. No change was observed in the level and structural characteristics of AGP. The WE-AX molecular weight (MW) profiles showed a very small shift toward lower MW profiles; those of AGP revealed no changes as a result of the production process. After separation of WE-AX and AGP, (1)H NMR analysis and gas chromatography of the alditol acetates obtained following hydrolysis, reduction, and acetylation revealed no changes in the arabinose substitution profile of the WE-AX samples during pasta processing. At optimal cooking times, WE-AX losses in the cooking water are small (maximally 5.9%). However, the loss of AGP is more pronounced (maximally 25.0%). Overcooking led to more losses of both components.     

Purification and characterization of a lipoxygenase enzyme from durum wheat semolina.

Purification of a lipoxygenase enzyme from the cultivar Tresor of durum wheat semolina (Triticum turgidum var. durum Desf) was reinvestigated furnishing a new procedure. The 895-fold purified homogeneous enzyme showed a monomeric structure with a molecular mass of 95 +/- 5 kDa. Among the substrates tested, linoleic acid showed the highest k(cat)/K(m) value; a beta-carotene bleaching activity was also detected. The enzyme optimal activity was at pH 6. 8 on linoleic acid as substrate and at pH 5.2 for the bleaching activity on beta-carotene, both assayed at 25 degrees C. The dependence of lipoxygenase activity on temperature showed a maximum at 40 degrees C for linoleic acid and at 60 degrees C for bleaching activity on beta-carotene. The amino acid composition showed the presence of only one tryptophan residue per monomer. Far-UV circular dichroism studies carried out at 25 degrees C in acidic, neutral, and basic regions revealed that the protein possesses a secondary structure content with a high percentage of alpha- and beta-structures. Near-UV circular dichroism, at 25 degrees C and at the same pH values, pointed out a strong perturbation of the tertiary structure in the acidic and basic regions compared to the neutral pH condition. Moreover, far-UV CD spectra studying the effects of the temperature on alpha-helix content revealed that the melting point of the alpha-helix is at 60 degrees C at pH 5.0, whereas it was at 50 degrees C at pH 6.8 and 9.0. The NH(2)-terminal sequence allowed a homology comparison with other lipoxygenase sequences from mammalian and vegetable sources.     

Endoxylanases in durum wheat semolina processing: solubilization of arabinoxylans, action of endogenous inhibitors, and effects on rheological properties

Endoxylanases seriously affect the rheological properties of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) semolina spaghetti doughs prepared with, and as evaluated, by the farinograph. Under the experimental conditions, control doughs (34.9% moisture content) made from two semolinas (semA and semB) yielded a maximal consistency of 525 and 517 farinograph units (FU), with, respectively, 19.4 and 16.4% of the total level of arabinoxylans (TOT-AX) being water-extractable (WE-AX). When 75.4 Somogyi units/50 g of semolina of the endoxylanases from Trichoderma viride (XTV), rumen microorganisms (XRM), Bacillus subtilis (XBS), and Aspergillus niger (XAN) were used, the maximal consistencies at 34.9% moisture decreased for semA to 467, 436, 448, and 417 FU, respectively. This was accompanied by increased WE-AX contents of 60.8, 71.2, 70.7, and 73.0%, respectively. Similar results were observed for semB. By reducing the total water content of doughs, it was possible to recover the maximal consistency of the original doughs. Both the decrease in maximal consistency and the amount of water to be omitted were significantly related to the decrease in molecular weight (MW) of the WE-AX and the percentage of WE-AX solubilized as a result of the enzymic action. At the same time, it was clear that endogenous endoxylanase inhibitors were present in the durum wheat semolinas and that they inhibited the endoxylanases used to different degrees. Part of the differences in effects between the different endoxylanases (decrease in maximal consistency, amount of AX solubilized, MWs of the WE-AX, and amount of water that could be omitted) could be ascribed to the differences in inhibition of the endoxylanases by endogenous inhibitors.     

食品加工用三螺杆挤压机

发展挤压食品巨大的市场空间推动了中国螺杆类食品挤压机械的不断创新。结合作者对食品加工用螺杆类挤压机的研究实践及食品加工的特点,就“一”字排列的和三角形排布的两种三螺杆挤压机的几何设计构型,论述了凭借三螺杆挤压机成倍增多的啮合区,以小直径、小长径比的多螺杆组合,使食品的挤压蒸煮作用及产量得到有效提高,说明了三螺杆挤压机在食品加工技术经济上的优越性。     

Bioaccessibility of carotenoids and vitamin e from pasta: evaluation of an in vitro digestion model

The present investigation aimed to expand the knowledge of bioaccessibility of carotenoids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols from cereal products such as pasta. Because most of the published approaches assessing the bioaccessibility of lipophilic micronutrients dealt with fruits and vegetables, a prevalent in vitro digestion procedure was modified. Additionally, several digestion parameters were evaluated with regard to their impact on the bioaccessibility of carotenoids and vitamin E from pasta. Overall, the estimated values were highly dependent on the amount of bile extract present in the digestive medium and to a lesser extent on the simulated gastric pH and the incubation time with digestive enzymes. The bioaccessibility of carotenoids and vitamin E from durum wheat pasta was quite high (71 ± 5 and 70 ± 4%, respectively), whereas these micronutrients were considerably less accessible from pasta containing 10% eggs (57 ± 1 and 49 ± 5%, respectively).     

Adsorption and ion exchange: basic principles and their application in food processing

A comprehensive overview of adsorption and ion exchange technology applied for food and nutraceutical production purposes is given in the present paper. Emanating from these fields of application, the main adsorbent and ion-exchange resin materials, their historical development, industrial production, and the main parameters characterizing these sorbents are covered. Furthermore, adsorption and ion exchange processes are detailed, also providing profound insights into kinetics, thermodynamics, and equilibrium model assumptions. In addition, the most important industrial adsorber and ion exchange processes making use of vessels and columns are summarized. Finally, an extensive overview of selected industrial applications of these technologies is provided, which is divided into general applications, food production applications, and the recovery of valuable bio- and technofunctional compounds from the byproducts of plant food processing, which may be used as natural food additives or for their potential health-beneficial effects in functional or enriched foods and nutraceuticals.     

Formation of amyloid-like fibrils by ovalbumin and related proteins under conditions relevant to food processing

Protein aggregation is important in food processing, and this work investigated the aggregation of food proteins as a source of amyloid fibrils for use in bionanotechnology. Both purified and crude mixtures of albumin proteins were denatured by heat, which caused aggregation to occur. Protein denaturation was measured by using circular dichroism spectrometry and by following thioflavin T fluorescence, which is widely used as a diagnostic test for amyloid formation. There was a good correlation between the increase in thioflavin T fluorescence and loss of helical structure as the temperature was increased. Formation of thioflavin T fluorescence was dependent on temperature, but less dependent on salt and protein concentration. X-ray fiber diffraction patterns of denatured bovine serum albumin suggested that the protein had a similar cross-beta structure to that of amyloid fibrils. These results are consistent with the aggregates seen during food processing, being amyloid-like in nature.     

Bioaccessibility of tocopherols, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid from milk- and soy-based fruit beverages: influence of food matrix and processing

A study was made of the effect of high-pressure processing (HPP) and thermal treatment (TT) on plant bioactive compounds (tocopherols, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid) in 12 fruit juice-milk beverages and of how the food matrix [whole milk (JW), skimmed milk (JS), and soy milk (JSy)] modulates their bioaccessibility (%). HPP (400 MPa/40 °C/5 min) produced a significant decrease in carotenoid and ascorbic acid bioaccessibility in all three beverages and maintained the bioaccessibility of tocopherols in JW and JS while decreasing it in JSy. TT (90 °C/30 s) produced a significant decrease in tocopherol and carotenoid bioaccessibility in all three beverages and increased the bioaccessibility of ascorbic acid. With regard to the food matrix, α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid bioaccessibility was greatest in JW beverages and lowest in JSy beverages, whereas no significant differences were found among the three beverages in terms of carotenoid bioaccessibility. HPP-treated samples showed higher tocopherol and carotenoid bioaccessibility than TT-treated samples, thus indicating that HPP combined with a milk matrix positively modulates the bioaccessibility of certain types of bioactive components of food, mainly those of a lipophilic nature.     

食品加工中风味规律的探索

为了获得具有良好风味的食品和为食品加工提供指导,通过对大量的食品风味经验知识的研究,探索了风味的本质问题,探讨了食品化学组成对风味造成的影响,总结出了主风味理论,合适浓度理论,平衡刺激理论,风味层次理论,风味音乐理论和刺激钝化理论等6个风味规律。并列举大量的实例对其进行解释,同时还论述了食品物理性质如质构、温度和比热对风味的影响。     

食品工程用超高压设备的设计及性能试验

为了提高超高压设备的稳定性和处理效率,促进超高压技术应用于食品加工,该文阐述了HHP-700-400L型食品工程用大型超高压设备的工作原理、设计要求、主体结构和工作过程,分析并确定了双向水介质增压器、直推式容器堵头及其密封系统、承压容器材料和结构等相关参数。设备单体容积为100L,总容积为400L;最高工作压力为600MPa;处理能力达到1.68t/h。经性能试验表明:设备性能稳定、操作方便、安全可靠。研究结果为大型商业化超高压设备的设计和制造提供参考。     

Biotechnological production of vitamin B2-enriched bread and pasta

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were obtained from durum wheat flour samples and screened for roseoflavin-resistant variants to isolate natural riboflavin-overproducing strains. Two riboflavin-overproducing strains of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated as described above were used for the preparation of bread (by means of sourdough fermentation) and pasta (using a prefermentation step) to enhance their vitamin B2 content. Pasta was produced from a monovarietal semolina obtained from the durum wheat cultivar PR22D89 and, for experimental purposes, from a commercial remilled semolina. Several samples were collected during the pasta-making process (dough, extruded, dried, and cooked pasta) and tested for their riboflavin content by a high-performance liquid chromatography method. The applied approaches resulted in a considerable increase of vitamin B2 content (about 2- and 3-fold increases in pasta and bread, respectively), thus representing a convenient and efficient food-grade biotechnological application for the production of vitamin B2-enriched bread and pasta. This methodology may be extended to a wide range of cereal-based foods, feed, and beverages. Additionally, this work exemplifies the production of a functional food by a novel biotechnological exploitation of LAB in pasta-making.     

Degradation of endogenous and exogenous genes of roundup-ready soybean during food processing

Roundup-Ready soybeans have been genetically modified to resist the effects of the herbicidal glyphosate and have become the most prevalent transgenic crop in the world. In this work, Roundup-Ready soybeans were used as raw material to study the effects of critical processing procedures such as grinding, cooking, blending, homogenization, sterilization, and spray-drying on the length of DNA fragments of an endogenous gene (lectin) and an exogenous gene (epsps) examined in material from three soybean foods of bean curd, soy milk, and soy powder and from samples taken during their processing. The results showed that various processing procedures caused degradations of both the endogenous and exogenous genes to different degrees. In the grinding procedure, endogenous gene DNA was degraded from 1883 to approximately 836 bp, and exogenous gene DNA was degraded from 1512 to approximately 408 bp. In the blending and squeeze-molding procedures, exogenous gene DNA was also degraded from about 408 to 190 bp, but there was no obvious action on the endogenous gene. After the endogenous and exogenous genes had been degraded to some degree, such as 836 and 408 bp, respectively, they were not evidently affected by cooking procedure at 100 degrees C for 15 min. However, the endogenous gene was further considerably degraded from around 836 to 162 bp in the sterilization procedure at 121 degrees C for 30 s. The effect of the homogenization step on endogenous and exogenous genes was similar to that of the cooking procedure. The coagulation procedure, principally a biochemical reaction, did not greatly affect the exogenous gene but did affect endogenous gene, reducing DNA size from about 836 to 407 bp. Furthermore, the spray-drying procedure, a process of physical shearing, high temperature, and sudden high pressure, distinctly caused degradation of both the lectin and epsps genes, rapidly decreasing the sizes from about 836 to 162 bp for the endogenous gene and from about 408 to 190 bp for the exogenous gene.     

Nutritional and physicochemical characteristics of dietary fiber enriched pasta.

The relationship between pasta texture and physicostructural characteristics was determined in relation to potential starch degradation and subsequent glucose release. Pastas with added soluble and insoluble dietary fiber ingredients were evaluated in relation to biochemical composition, cooking properties, and textural characteristics. Results show that both the type and amount of added fiber influence the overall quality of both raw and cooked pasta. Glucose release may be significantly reduced by the addition of soluble dietary fiber.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of total niacin in beef, semolina, and cottage cheese

A sensitive and precise liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of total niacin in beef, semolina, and cottage cheese. The samples are extracted with Ca(OH)2, cleaned up using C18 Sep-Pak cartridges, and chromatographed on a C18 column using a mobile phase consisting of 23% acetonitrile, 0.10% H3PO4, and 0.10% sodium dodecyl sulfate in water. Niacin is detected using an absorbance detector operating at 254 nm. This chromatographic system produces an unusually sharp peak for niacin, enabling a detection limit of approximately 0.05 mg/100 g. The mean recovery was 99.5% and the coefficients of variation for beef, semolina, and cottage cheese were 3.58, 1.02, and 10.0%, respectively.     

绿色食品“三产”融合发展路径研究

绿色食品"三产"融合发展是激发绿色食品发展动能的重要抓手。本文分析了黑龙江省绿色食品"三产"融合发展趋势、基本特征和典型经验,以及当前面临的困难和挑战,总结了一些带有规律性的认识,在此基础上,对加快推进绿色食品"三产"融合发展提出了建议。     

Purified phenolics from hydrothermal treatments of biomass: ability to protect sunflower bulk oil and model food emulsions from oxidation

The phenolic fractions released during hydrothermal treatment of selected feedstocks (corn cobs, eucalypt wood chips, almond shells, chestnut burs, and white grape pomace) were selectively recovered by extraction with ethyl acetate and washed with ethanol/water solutions. The crude extracts were purified by a relatively simple adsorption technique using a commercial polymeric, nonionic resin. Utilization of 96% ethanol as eluting agent resulted in 47.0-72.6% phenolic desorption, yielding refined products containing 49-60% w/w phenolics (corresponding to 30-58% enrichment with respect to the crude extracts). The refined extracts produced from grape pomace and from chestnut burs were suitable for protecting bulk oil and oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions. A synergistic action with bovine serum albumin in the emulsions was observed.     

Bringing home the right to food in Canada: challenges and possibilities for achieving food security

We offer a critique of Canada's approach to domestic food security with respect to international agreements, justiciability and case law, the breakdown of the public safety net, the institutionalisation of charitable approaches to food insecurity, and the need for 'joined-up' food and nutrition policies. We examined Canada's commitments to the right to food, as well as Canadian policies, case law and social trends, in order to assess Canada's performance with respect to the human right to food. We found that while Canada has been a leader in signing international human rights agreements, including those relating to the right to food, domestic action has lagged and food insecurity increased. We provide recommendations for policy changes that could deal with complex issues of state accountability, social safety nets and vulnerable populations, and joined-up policy frameworks that could help realise the right to adequate food in Canada and other developed nations.     

Effects of phosphorus fertilizer supplementation on processing quality and functional food ingredients in tomato

Even though several types of phosphorus fertilizers are used in crop production, the influence of phosphorus on produce quality is not well understood. Several quality attributes of tomato juice were analyzed in relation to phosphorus supplementation during a three-year field study (2000-2002). In addition to the recommended phosphorus fertilization, phosphorus supplementations, either through soil (low and high) or through foliar spray (hydrophos, seniphos), were tested. In general, soil and foliar phosphorus supplementation did not provide a statistically significant increase in yield. Tomato juice was evaluated for various quality characteristics including pH, titratable acidity, precipitate weight ratio, total solids, serum viscosity, Brookfield viscosity, color, lycopene levels, vitamin C, and flavor volatiles. Changes observed in several quality parameters were marginal, statistically insignificant and influenced by the season. Therefore, it appears that phosphorus supplementation may not significantly affect the processing quality parameters in tomato fruits.     

Pasta made from durum wheat semolina fermented with selected lactobacilli as a tool for a potential decrease of the gluten intolerance

A pool of selected lactic acid bacteria was used to ferment durum wheat semolina under liquid conditions. After fermentation, the dough was freeze-dried, mixed with buckwheat flour at a ratio of 3:7, and used to produce the "fusilli" type Italian pasta. Pasta without prefermentation was used as the control. Ingredients and pastas were characterized for compositional analysis. As shown by two-dimensional electrophoresis, 92 of the 130 durum wheat gliadin spots were hydrolyzed almost totally during fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. Mass spectrometry matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight and reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography analyses confirmed the hydrolysis of gliadins. As shown by immunological analysis by R5-Western blot, the concentration of gluten decreased from 6280 ppm in the control pasta to 1045 ppm in the pasta fermented with lactic acid bacteria. Gliadins were extracted from fermented and nonfermented durum wheat dough semolina and used to produce a peptic-tryptic (PT) digest for in vitro agglutination tests on cells of human origin. The whole PT digests did not cause agglutination. Affinity chromatography on Sepharose-6-B mannan column separated the PT digests in three fractions. Fraction C showed agglutination activity. The minimal agglutinating activity of fraction C from the PT digest of fermented durum wheat semolina was ca. 80 times higher than that of durum wheat semolina. Pasta was subjected to sensory analysis: The scores for stickiness and firmness were slightly lower than those found for the pasta control. Odor and flavor did not differ between the two types of pasta. These results showed that a pasta biotechnology that uses a prefermentation of durum wheat semolina by selected lactic acid bacteria and tolerated buckwheat flour could be considered as a novel tool to potentially decrease gluten intolerance and the risk of gluten contamination in gluten-free products.