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•Fermented plant-based foods are an alternative source of protein.•Solid-state fermentation presents with advantages against submerged fermentation.•Fermentation reduces ...antinutritional factors and improves nutritional value and digestibility.•Fermented cereals stand for increased antioxidant properties.•Fermented legumes are characterised by improved technological properties.
Nowadays there is an increasing demand for vegetable protein sources as an alternative to that of animal origin, not only for its greater environmental sustainability but also for its relationship with lower risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases. Legumes, cereals and seeds are seen as a good proteinaceous source providing as well dietetic fiber and phytochemicals with antioxidant properties. However, their digestibility and bioavailability are limited by the presence of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) but susceptible of being improved by soaking, cooking or fermentation. The objective of this work is to review the solid-state and submerged fermentation effect on nutritional and functional properties of legumes, cereals and seeds. The microorganisms involved (bacteria, fungus and yeasts) are able to produce enzymes that degrade ANFs giving rise to more digestible flours with a more interesting nutritional, sensorial and technological profile. Solid-state fermentation is more commonly used for its higher efficiency, accepting agro-industrial residues as substrates and its lower volume of effluents. Fermented legumes had their technological properties enhanced while an increment in antioxidant properties was characteristic of cereals. The present review highlights fermentation of cereals and legumes mainly as a key process that at industrial scale could generate new products with enhanced nutritional and technological properties.
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) implies maldigestion, being pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy the treatment to enhance digestibility. This study aims at analysing the influence of ...cheese-related factors and intestinal conditions on macronutrients digestibility. Fresh-cow, fresh-goat, mild and aged cheeses were in vitro digested under different intestinal conditions of pH (6 or 7), bile concentration (1 or 10 mmol/L) and pancreatic enzymes (0–4000 LU/g fat) in order to in vitro mimic the intestinal conditions of a healthy adult and of an individual suffering of EPI. Under intestinal conditions of EPI (pH 6, bile 1 mmol/L), lipids of fresh-goat and aged cheeses were more easily digested than those of fresh-cow and mild cheeses. In fact, 2000 LU/g fat of enzymatic dosage was enough to achieve a lipolysis extent of 80 and 100% in aged and fresh-goat cheeses, respectively. In contrast, proteolysis was higher in fresh-cow cheese and ripened (mild or aged) than in fresh-goat one regardless the intestinal conditions. Only in ripened-cheeses, proteolysis significantly increased at dose of enzymes does.
•Lipid digestibility depends on cheese manufacturing and intestinal conditions.•Matured cheeses exhibit the highest digestibility of proteins and lipids.•Goat cheese lipids are the most digestible under exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.•Protein digestibility is not affected by intestinal pH or bile salt concentration.
•Saffron enriched pasta may affect starch digestibility and its glycaemic index.•High saffron concentration and short cooking time lead to high crocins release.•Oil added to pasta before digestion ...enhanced crocins release in the intestinal juice.•Isomerization trans to cis happened due to cooking time and oil addition.
This work aims to study the effect of the addition of saffron extract on fresh pasta in-vitro digestibility. Fresh pasta was formulated with different concentrations of saffron extracts (0.2 and 0.4 %w/w), cooked at two different times (1.5 and 3 min), and in vitro digested (oral, gastric and intestinal stages). Oil was added to pasta before digestion to evaluate the presence of lipids on starch and crocin bioaccessibility. Saffron enrichment and oil addition slowed down the digestion of starch, thus, decreasing the glycemic index of pasta. Concentration of saffron and oil addition contributed to crocin release in the digestion fluids, with the opposite effect of cooking time. Isomerization from trans to cis was enhanced by both, cooking and oil addition. Bioaccessibility of total crocins varied from 2.9 ± 1.1, to 97 ± 3%. Finally, the trans:cis isomers distribution was only close to 50:50 in enriched-pasta cooked during 3 min or with oil addition.
There is an increasing demand on alternatives methods to animal testing. Numerous health parameters have been already studied using in vitro devices able to mimic the essential functions of the ...organs, being the real-time monitoring and response to stimuli their main limitations. Regarding the health of the gut, the short chain fatty acids, and particularly acetate, have emerged as key biomarkers to evaluate gut healthiness and disease development, although the number of acetate biosensors is still very low. This article presents a microbial biosensor based on fully biocompatible materials which is able to detect acetate in aerobic conditions in the range between 11 and 50 mM, and without compromising the viability and function of either bacteria (>90% viability) or mammalian cells (>80% viability). The detection mechanism is based on the metabolism of acetate by Escherichia coli bacteria immobilized on the transducer surface. Ferricyanide is used as a redox mediator to transfer electrons from the acetate metabolism in the bacterial cells to the transducer. High bacterial concentrations are immobilized in the transducer surface (109 cfu mL−1) by electrodeposition of conductive alginate hydrogels doped with reduced graphene oxide. The results show successful outcomes to exploit bacteria as a biosensing tool, based on the use of inkjet printed transducers, biocompatible materials and cell entrapment technologies.
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•Escherichia coli uses acetate as carbon source in aerobic conditions.•Stable, biocompatible, conductive alginate hydrogel is electrodeposited on inkjet printed sensor's working electrode.•Immobilization of high bacterial concentrations of E. coli within alginate hydrogel.•Bacterial metabolism oxidizes acetate, enabling amperometric measurement of electron flow via ferricyanide reduction.•Successful proof-of-concept demonstration of bioelectrochemical acetate detection is performed.
Solid-state fermentation (SSF) may be a suitable bioprocess to produce protein-vegetal ingredients with increased nutritional and functional value. This study assessed changes in phenol content, ...antinutrient content, biomass production and protein production resulting from the metabolic activity of
Pleurotus ostreatus
, an edible fungus, in lentils and quinoa over 14 days of SSF. The impact of particle size on these parameters was also assessed because the process was conducted in both seeds and flours. Fungus biomass increased during fermentation, reaching 30.0 ± 1.4 mg/g dry basis and 32 ± 3 mg/g dry basis in lentil grain and flour and 52.01 ± 1.08 mg/g dry basis and 45 ± 2 mg/g dry basis in quinoa seeds and flour after 14 days of SSF. Total protein content also increased by 20% to 25% during fermentation, in all cases except lentil flour. However, the soluble protein fraction remained constant. Regarding phytic acid, SSF had a positive impact, with a progressive decrease being higher in flours than in seeds. Regarding antioxidant properties, autoclaving of the substrates promoted the release of polyphenols, together with antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP), in all substrates. However, these parameters drastically decreased as fermentation progressed. These results provide scientific knowledge for producing lentil- or quinoa-based ingredients with low antinutrient content enriched with protein fungal biomass.
Graphical Abstract
Lentils (Lens culinaris) present an excellent nutrient profile. However, the increasing displacement of legumes from the diet and the possible negative effects of the food matrix and antinutrient ...factors encourage the application of new strategies to improve nutrient digestibility and to produce food concepts that contribute to the increase of legume consumption. This study approached the solid-state fermentation of lentils with an edible fungus (Pleurotus ostreatus) in order to produce improved lentil flour. Fermentation contributed to the increase of protein (23%), resistant starch (9.8%), and polyphenols (from 2.1 to 3.2 mg gallic acid equivalent per g dry matter). After simulating in vitro digestion, fermented flours presented a higher fraction of digested protein (17%) along with lower starch hydrolysis (34 vs. 24%), while the polyphenol content increased from 3.1 to 7.73 mg gallic acid equivalent per g dry matter. Thus, this study supports the application of solid-state fermentation with this edible fungus to obtain lentil flours with an enhanced digestibility profile as compared to non-fermented counterparts. Lentil flours could be used as a novel raw material in the formulation of new food concepts with an enhanced nutritional profile.
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•Poaching led to the highest digestibility under exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI).•Boiling and poaching enhance bioaccessibility of lutein and zeaxanthin under EPI.•Poached egg ...is advised for a better lipid digestion in eggs for individuals with EPI.•Lipolysis, proteolysis and xanthophylls bioaccessibility are limited in omelette.
Digestibility of macro and micronutrients depends on the ingested food as well as on gastrointestinal conditions, being those suboptimal in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) patients. Under this scenario, oral enzyme supplementation improves enzymatic hydrolysis of nutrients. In this study, a static in vitro model was used to assess lipids and protein digestibility as well as lutein and zeaxanthin bioaccessibility of eggs cooked differently and submitted to different intestinal conditions. Boiled, poached and omelette eggs were digested under different intestinal conditions of pH (6 or 7), bile concentration (1 or 10 mM) and doses of the enzyme supplement (1000–4000 LU/g fat). Results showed that poaching resulted in higher digestibility of lipids and proteins, compared to boiling or omelette preparations, under gastrointestinal conditions of EPI (pH 6, bile 1 mM). Concerning xanthophylls bioaccessibility, boiling and poaching led to higher bioaccessibility of lutein and zeaxanthin than omelette under EPI conditions.
•Extensive experimental and observational evidence of climate change impacts on Mediterranean plants and ecosystems is provided.•Genetics, epigenetics, morphology, physiology and phenology of living ...organisms are changing.•As a result, interactions between species and the species composition of communities are also altered.•The capacity of C uptake is reduced and the risk of nutrient losses is increased.•The experimental and observational data provides useful information for the management of Mediterranean forests.
Climate change is increasing temperatures globally and drought in many regions. If climate change continues at its current rate, the resilience of many ecosystems will likely be exceeded, altering their structure and function. A consistent understanding of the impacts, however, remains elusive due to the difficulty of obtaining data of field studies at different scales from local to regional. We review the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems of the Mediterranean region based mostly on long-term field experiments of climatic manipulation and monitored field sites in Catalonia (NE Spain). These studies provide diverse experimental and observational field evidences that rising temperatures, new patterns of precipitation and other climatic changes are already affecting ecosystems in this Mediterranean region. Rapid genetic, epigenetic and metabolomics changes in plants have been described. They have resulted in changes in morphology, physiology, growth, reproduction, and mortality. Some species are more vulnerable to these changes than others are, which has altered their competitive ability and thereby changed microbial, plant and animal community composition. Many other impacts have been observed in response to climate change, for example an increase in the emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds or an increased risk of fire and a decrease in the absorption of CO2 in periods of drought. A reduction of the capacity to retain nutrients and C in vegetation is accompanied, in the short term, by an increase in soil C and nutrient contents due to a decrease in the enzymatic capacity and mineralization of soil. The projected increase of torrential rainfalls introduces a scenario of uncertain changes in nutrient cycles, soil fertility and nutrient fluxes at medium and long terms. All these changes in water and nutrient availability suggest, though, net losses in the capacity of Mediterranean forests and shrublands to act as C sinks. Future research should quantify C in above- and belowground biomasses and soils under drought and warming, because this necessary information is lacking. Future studies should also investigate the losses of soil nutrients by leaching and erosion, and the possible feedbacks of land cover changes on water availability and regional climate. Policies of environmental and forestry management should take into account these impacts of the environmental and climatic conditions projected for the coming years and decades.
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