Phytochemicals are biologically active compounds present in plants used for food and medicine. A great deal of interest has been generated recently in the isolation, characterization and biological activity of these phytochemicals. This book is in response to the need for more current and global scope of phytochemicals. It contains chapters written by internationally recognized authors. The topics covered in the book range from their occurrence, chemical and physical characteristics, analytical procedures, biological activity, safety and industrial applications. The book has been planned to meet the needs of the researchers, health professionals, government regulatory agencies and industries. This book will serve as a standard reference book in this important and fast growing area of phytochemicals, human nutrition and health.
Fresh-cut strawberries were subjected to pulsed light treatments (4, 8, 12 and 16 J·cm−2) combined with a stabilizing dip. Quality changes and antioxidant properties were evaluated for 14 days at 5 °C. The treatments delayed fungal for the studied period. Surface color of treated fresh-cut strawberries was preserved in both internal and external surfaces. Doses of 4 and 8 J·cm−2 reduced softening incidence over storage. No significant differences between the total phenolic contents of untreated and treated fresh-cut strawberries were observed during storage. Vitamin C and total anthocyanin contents of the samples treated at low energy doses were maintained, whereas those of slices treated at the highest energy dose decreased between 20 and 30%, respectively. On the other hand, initial antioxidant capacity was better kept in all samples during storage regardless the applied dose. Hence, 4 and 8 J·cm−2 were the most effective treatments for maintaining quality and antioxidant properties of fresh-cut strawberries. Industrial relevance: Fresh-cut strawberries may be sold as a highly convenient, healthy and fully edible product. However, processing and packaging conditions need to ensure the maintenance of their quality characteristics and content of bioactive compounds. This study provides scientific evidence regarding the beneficial effects of pulsed light treatments combined with a quality-stabilizing dip for extending the shelf-life of fresh-cut fruit. These combined treatments may be economically viable at industrial level because of their low energy requirements and reduced treatment time. ; This work was supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014 SGR 1000) and the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the Spanish Government (AGL 2010-21572 and AGL2013-44851-R). O. Martín-Belloso thanks 2015 IFT Fellow. K. R. Avalos-Llano thanks CONICET and the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste for the postdoctoral grant and financial support.
Enzymatic browning is the main deleterious phenomenon affecting the quality of minimally processed mushrooms. Nano-encapsulation of antibrowning agents provides a new strategy to prevent discoloration in minimally processed commodities. In this study, coatings containing AA-loaded chitosan/tripolyphosphate nanoaggregates were applied to evaluate the postharvest preservation of minimally processed mushrooms during 16 d of storage at 5 °C. Package headspace composition, browning index, firmness, phenolic and ascorbic content, antioxidant capacity and polyphenol oxidase activity were evaluated as quality indicators. The results indicate that nanostructured coatings can effectively alleviate browning development (browning index was significantly reduced) and maintain firmness. Higher levels of phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, as well as improvement in antioxidant capacity were achieved with the application of nano-encapsulated ascorbic acid. Polyphenol oxidase activity was partially inhibited as a consequence of the high AA concentration maintained during storage. The results allow concluding that AA-loaded chitosan/tripolyphosphate nanoaggregates are an interesting alternative to prevent browning of fresh-cut mushrooms and maintain high ascorbic acid concentrations through refrigerated storage. ; This work was supported by the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste (Argentina); the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Argentina); the European Regional Development Fund; and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government (project AGL2015-65975-R).
There is a lack of knowledge about how soluble fiber used as stabilizer may influence physicochemical properties of nanoemulsions during the lipid digestion process. In this study, different concentrations of mandarin fiber (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 g/100 g) were added to nanoemulsions containing oil enriched with β-carotene (4 g/100 g emulsion) and tween 20 (1.5 g/100 g emulsion). As nanoemulsions were subjected to the different phases of an in vitro simulated gastrointestinal tract (GIT), its particle size was gradually increased. Furthermore, the higher the mandarin fiber content in the nanoemulsion, the greater the particle size. Nanoemulsions containing concentrations of mandarin fiber over 1.5 g/100 g showed the lowest ζ-potential, meaning that the droplets may become unstable and were likely to aggregate. Besides, adding until 1 g of mandarin fiber/100 g was effective to enhance bioaccessibility of the β-carotene incorporated in nanoemulsions. The present study provides valuable information on the phenomenology of incorporating mandarin fiber within β-carotene enriched nanoemulsions. ; This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project AGL2012-35635) and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project AGL2015-65975-R). Ariadna Gasa Falcon thanks the Agencia de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris I de Recerca (AGAUR) from the catalan government (Spain), for the pre-doctoral grant.
The presence of emulsifiers facilitates the formation of nanoemulsions and helps on their stabilisation. At the same time, behaviour of nanoemulsions along the gastrointestinal tract mainly depend on their composition, affecting the bioaccessibility of the encapsulated compound. The goal of this work was to study how β-caroteneenriched nanoemulsions prepared with different emulsifiers (Tween 20, lecithin, sodium caseinate, sucrose palmitate) and concentrations (2-8%) would affect their stability (particle size and zeta potential) during an in vitro gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The lipid digestibility, as well as the β-carotene bioaccessibility of nanoemulsions, was also determined. Nanoemulsions stabilised with Tween 20, lecithin and sodium caseinate did not present any variation in particle size under stomach conditions. After intestinal GIT phase, all nanoemulsions experienced physical changes, either increasing or reducing their particle size depending on the nature and concentration of emulsifier used. The zeta potential of all nanoemulsions was maintained negative throughout the GIT, being less negative after the stomach GIT phase (between -24.2 and -1.4 mV). Lecithinstabilised nanoemulsions presented the highest number of free fatty acids when emulsifier concentration increased from 2 to 8%.In this sense, nanoemulsions containing 8% of lecithin exhibited the highest β-carotene bioaccessibility (23.5%), suggesting that lecithin can enhance lipid digestion and bioaccessibility of β-carotene encapsulated within nanoemulsions. This work elucidates the importance of not only the emulsifier nature but also the concentration used when designing nanoemulsions as delivery systems of lipophilic compounds. ; This work was supported by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project AGL2015-65975-R). Ariadna Gasa Falcon thanks the Agencia de Gestio d'Ajuts Universitaris I de Recerca (AGAUR) from the catalan government (Spain), for the pre-doctoral grant.
The effects of pulsed light (PL) treatments combined with a quality-stabilizing dip on the quality and antioxidant attributes of fresh-cut 'Golden delicious' apples was studied. Apple wedges were dipped into a solution of 1% w/v N-acetylcysteine and 0.5% w/v CaCl2 and flashed with broad-spectrum light with an overall radiant exposure of 4, 8,12 and 16 J.cm(-2). General microbial counts, colour, firmness, phenolic compounds and vitamin C contents were evaluated over 15 days at 5 degrees C. More pronounced reductions of the naturally-occurring microbiota were observed as the applied PL-dose increased. The quality-stabilizing pre-treatment effectively prevented browning phenomena on the cut-tissue surface. In addition, browning and oxidation were not promoted in PL flashed samples. Indeed, the initial contents in phenolic compounds and vitamin C were even better maintained than in untreated samples. Treatments of 8 and 16 J cm(-2) were most effective for maintaining the quality and antioxidant characteristics. Industrial relevance: Pulsed light technology is an emerging technique with good prospects for the decontamination of foods and food contact surfaces. Application of pulse light treatments for increasing safety and extending microbial shelf life of fresh-cut produce seems feasible. However, their effects on the quality and antioxidant characteristics of fruit need to be evaluated for successfully applying the technology at an industrial level. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ; This work was supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014 SGR 1000) and the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the Spanish Government (AGL 2010-21572 and AGL2013-44851-R). O. Martín-Belloso thanks ICREA Academia Award. K. Avalos Llano thanks CONICET and Universidad Nacional del Nordeste (Argentina) for the postdoctoral grant and financial support.
The aim of this study was to develop a β-carotene-enriched tertiary emulsion (lactoferrin/alginate/ε-poly-L-lysine). Then, its physical stability as well as β-carotene content under external stresses (temperature, pH and ionic strength changes) was evaluated. Furthermore, lipid digestibility and β-carotene bioaccessibility of primary, secondary and tertiary emulsions were determined. Tertiary emulsion underwent a substantial particle size increase up to 13 μm after extreme temperatures, acidic conditions and with salt addition. However, small particle size (0.41 μm) and negative ζ-potential (-43.4 mV) was observed at basic pH. In addition, β-carotene content in tertiary emulsions decreased only 40% when emulsions were subjected at temperatures ≤70ºC, in acidic conditions and below 0.3M NaCl. After in vitro digestion, tertiary emulsion presented higher lipid digestibility (83.59±11.81%) and β-carotene bioaccessibility (70.10±5.26%) compared with primary and secondary emulsions. This study provides knowledge to understand the behaviour of β-carotene-loaded tertiary emulsions under different conditions, valuable for further application in foodstuffs. ; This work was supported by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project AGL2015-65975-R). Ariadna Gasa Falcon thanks the Agencia de Gestio d'Ajuts Universitaris I de Recerca (AGAUR) from the catalan government (Spain), for the pre-doctoral grant.
Persimmon fruit (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) production suffers great losses (15–20%) due to the inefficient overripening process. In order to valorise this waste, a compositional characterization of different fruit stages of the residues was done, and immature fruit was selected due to its high pectin and very high polyphenol content. A 3-level full factorial design was carried out to study the effect of temperature (70–95 °C) and low pH (0.5–1.5), on yield, degree of esterification, carbohydrate constituents, phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of the extracted pectin, and a complete polyphenol profile (UPLC-MS/MS) was performed on selected extracts. All responses could be accurately adjusted to the models (R2 > 80; lack of fit). Pectin yield, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity ranged from 1.4 to 4.5%, 53.3 ± 2.27 to 111.7 ± 9.74 mg GAE/g pectin and 0.29 ± 0.01 to 2.77 ± 0.04 TEAC (Trolox μmol/mg pectin), respectively. A strong pectin-polyphenol interaction was found, which significantly enhanced acid resistance of both the pectin and polyphenol constituents, with optimum yield and polyphenol content at pH 1 and 95 °C. These new pectin-based ingredients might have a great potential as functional foods or natural food ingredients enhancing the quality and shelf-life. ; This work was funded by grant RTI-2018-094268-B-C21 and RTI2018-094268-B-C22 (MCIU, AEI; FEDER, UE) . Mendez D. A. is supported by the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation of the Colombian Government (783-2017) . A. Martinez-Abad is recipient of JdC (IJDC-2017-31255) contract from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.
The application of novel technologies such as moderate-intensity pulsed electricfields (MIPEF) and/or highpressure thermal (HPT) treatments improved the quality of processed pumpkin. MIPEF was applied to wholepumpkin in order to increase the bioactive compounds content, in contrast, HPT treatment was applied in orderto preserve the purées. Traditional thermal treatment (TT) of pasteurization and sterilization was compared withequivalent HPT treatments. The effect of processing (TT vs. HPT) in purées made from pumpkin pretreated withMIPEF was evaluated. Microbiological counts, enzyme inactivation (polyphenol oxidase, PPO) and bioactivecompounds content (carotenoids, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity) were analyzed in all processedpurées. Regarding the pretreatment of the pumpkin, the application of MIPEF increased the content of somebioactive compounds of interest, such as carotenoids. The HPT treatment equivalent to sterilization preservedhigh levels of carotene compounds and antioxidant activity of pumpkin purée although this treatment im-portantly modified the original color of purée. However, the HPT treatment equivalent to pasteurization did notinactivate PPO enzyme in contrast to the effect reached by the equivalent TT. The bioactive compounds levels inHPT treated purée were similar or lower than those treated by TT.Industrial relevance:Pulsed electricfields and high pressure thermal processing are emerging non-thermal foodprocessing technologies. Moderate-intensity pulsed electricfields (MIPEF) were applied to increase the gen-eration of bioactive compounds in vegetables. This treatment enhanced the carotenoids content in pumpkin.High pressure thermal treatment (applied at conditions equivalent to sterilization) was the method that bestpreserved pumpkin purées. The application of MIPEF to pumpkin and HPT treatment to the resulting puréescould be proposed as a strategy for producing and preserving vegetable products with high bioactive compoundscontent. ; The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support by the project INIA RTA2010-00079-C02. R. Ramírez thanks Extremadura Government for her grant (TA130125, DOE 22/07/2014).
In this study, the total phenolic content, the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of onion waste extracts were characterized. Some phenolic compounds present in the extracts were also identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD. Additionally, an in-silico analysis was performed to identify the phenolic compounds with the highest intestinal absorption and Caco-2 permeability. The onion extract possessed a high amount of phenolic compounds (177 ± 9 mg/g extract) and had an effective antioxidant capacity measured by ABTS, FRAP and DPPH assays. Regarding the antiproliferative activity, the onion extracts produced cell cycle arrest in the S phase with p53 activation, intrinsic apoptosis (mitochondrial membrane potential modification) and caspase 3 activation. Likewise, onion waste increased intracellular ROS with possible NF-kB activation causing a proteasome down regulation. In addition, the extracts protected the intestine against oxidative stress induced by H2O2. According to the in-silico analysis, these results could be related to the higher Caco-2 permeability to protocatechuic acid. Therefore, this study provides new insights regarding the potential use of these types of extract as functional ingredients with antioxidant and antiproliferative properties and as medicinal agents in diseases related to oxidative stress, such as cancer. In addition, its valorization would contribute to the circular economy. ; :This work was supported by the Grants: CIBEROBN, CB06/03/1012, 2008, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (PID2019-104915RB-I00), Fondo Social Europeo-Gobierno de Aragón (B16_20R) and SUDOE (Redvalue, SOE1/PI/E0123). This research was alsofunded by EUROPEAN UNION'S H2020 research and innovation program under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 801586. G.M. gratefully acknowledges the support from the Miguel Servet Program (MS19/00092; Instituto de Salud Carlos III). M.P. acknowledges the support from the Gobierno de Aragón fellowship (CUS/581/2020).
Olive pomace (OP) is the main residue that results from olive oil production. OP is richin bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, so its use in the treatments of diseases related tooxidative stress, such as cancer, could be considered. The present work aimed to study the biologicalproperties of different OP extracts, obtained by ohmic heating-assisted extraction and conventionalheating, using water and 50% ethanol, in the treatment and prevention of colorectal cancer throughCaco-2 cell models. Additionally, an in-silico analysis was performed to identify the phenolic intestinalabsorption and Caco-2 permeability. The extracts were chemically characterized, and it was found thatthe Ohmic-hydroethanolic (OH-EtOH) extract had the highest antiproliferative effect, probably dueto its higher content of phenolic compounds. The OH-EtOH induced potential modifications in themitochondrial membrane and led to apoptosis by cell cycle arrest in the G1/S phases with activationof p53 and caspase 3 proteins. In addition, this extract protected the intestine against oxidative stress(ROS) caused by H2O2. Therefore, the bioactive compounds present in OP and recovered by applying agreen technology such as ohmic-heating, show promising potential to be used in food, nutraceutical,and biomedical applications, reducing this waste and facilitating the circular economy. ; This work was supported by the Grants from MCIN, CIBEROBN (CB06/03/1012), RedMultimetdrugs (RED2018-102471-T), and the Government of Aragón (B16-20R), the Interreg SudoeProgram (REDVALUE, SOE1/P1/E0123) through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategicfunding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit.
