A protocol for extraction of yellow mealworm larvae proteins was established, conditions were evaluated and the resulting protein extract was characterised. The freeze-dried yellow mealworm larvae ...contained around 33% fat, 51% crude protein and 43% true protein on a dry matter basis. The true protein content of the protein extract was about 75%, with an extraction rate of 70% under optimised extraction conditions using 0.25 M NaOH, a NaOH solution:ethanol defatted worm ratio of 15:1 mL/g, 40°C for 1 h and extraction twice. The protein extract was a good source of essential amino acids. The lowest protein solubility in distilled water solution was found between pH 4 and 5, and increased with either increasing or decreasing pH. Lower solubility was observed in 0.5 M NaCl solution compared with distilled water. The rheological tests indicated that temperature, sample concentration, addition of salt and enzyme, incubation time and pH alterations influenced the elastic modulus of yellow mealworm protein extract (YMPE). These results demonstrate that the functional properties of YMPE can be modified for different food applications.
Abstract
Cereal grains are the main dietary source of energy, carbohydrates, and plant proteins world-wide. Currently, only 41% of grains are used for human consumption, and up to 35% are used for ...animal feed. Cereals have been overlooked as a source of environmentally sustainable and healthy plant proteins and could play a major role in transitioning towards a more sustainable food system for healthy diets. Cereal plant proteins are of good nutritional quality, but lysine is often the limiting amino acid. When consumed as whole grains, cereals provide health-protecting components such as dietary fiber and phytochemicals. Shifting grain use from feed to traditional foods and conceptually new foods and ingredients could improve protein security and alleviate climate change. Rapid development of new grain-based food ingredients and use of grains in new food contexts, such as dairy replacements and meat analogues, could accelerate the transition. This review discusses recent developments and outlines future perspectives for cereal grain use.
Whole grain rye products have been shown to increase satiety and elicit lower postprandial insulin response without a corresponding change in glucose response compared with soft refined wheat bread. ...The underlying mechanisms for these effects have not been fully determined The primary aim of the study was to investigate if whole grain rye crisp bread compared to refined wheat crisp bread, elected beneficial effects on appetite and postprandial insulin response, similarly as for other rye products.
In a randomized cross-over trial, 23 healthy volunteers, aged 27-70 years, BMI 18-31.4 kg/m2, were served a standardized breakfast with unfermented whole grain rye crisp bread (uRCB), fermented whole grain rye crisp bread (RCB) or refined wheat crisp bread (WCB), Appetite was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS) until 4 h after breakfast. Postprandial glucose and insulin were measured at 0-230 min. Breads were chemically characterized including macronutrients, energy, dietary fiber components, and amino acid composition, and microstructure was characterized with light microscopy.
Reported fullness was 16% higher (P<0.001), and hunger 11% and 12% lower (P<0.05) after ingestion of uRCB and RCB, respectively, compared with WCB. Postprandial glucose response did not differ significantly between treatments. Postprandial insulin was 10% lower (P<0.007) between 0-120 min but not significantly lower between 0-230 min for RCB compared with WCB. uRCB induced 13% (P<0.002) and 17% (P<0.001) lower postprandial insulin response between 0-230 min compared with RCB and WCB respectively.
Whole grain rye crisp bread induces higher satiety and lower insulin response compared with refined wheat crisp bread. Microstructural characteristics, dietary fiber content and composition are probable contributors to the increased satiety after ingestion of rye crisp breads. Higher insulin secretion after ingestion of RCB and WCB compared with uRCB may be due to differences in fiber content and composition, and higher availability of insulinogenic branched chain amino acids.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02011217.
Maternal diet modifies epigenetic programming in offspring, a potentially critical factor in the immune dysregulation of modern societies. We previously found that prenatal fish oil supplementation ...affects neonatal T-cell histone acetylation of genes implicated in adaptive immunity including
,
, and
. In this study, we measured H3 and H4 histone acetylation levels by chromatin immunoprecipitation in 173 term placentas collected in the prospective birth cohort, ALADDIN, in which information on lifestyle and diet is thoroughly recorded. In anthroposophic families, regular olive oil usage during pregnancy was associated with increased H3 acetylation at
(
= 0.004),
(
= 0.008), and
(
= 0.007) promoters, which remained significant after adjustment by offspring gender. Furthermore, maternal fish consumption was associated with increased H4 acetylation at the
gene in placentas of female offspring (
= 0.009). In conclusion, prenatal olive oil intake can affect placental histone acetylation in immune regulatory genes, confirming previously observed pro-acetylation effects of olive oil polyphenols. The association with fish consumption may implicate ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids present in fish oil. Altered histone acetylation in placentas from mothers who regularly include fish or olive oil in their diets could influence immune priming in the newborn.
In situ fibrillation of plant proteins in presence of the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (NP) promoted formation of a hybrid nanocomposite. The morphology of NP-fibril composite was ...revealed using ex-situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air. The NP-fibrils were associated into extended multi-fibril structures, indicating that the addition of NPs promoted protein association via β-sheet assembly. Real-time movement of NPs attached to fibrils under an external magnetic field was visualized using in-situ AFM in liquid, revealing that composite structures were stable at low pH, and displaying dipolar property of the NPs in the composite at high pH. Changes in magnetic properties of NPs when interacting with protein fibrils were quantitatively mapped using magnetic force microscopy (MFM). The magnetic moment of the NPs in composite was increased by co-existing with protein at low pH, while their dipolar nature was maintained at high pH. Self-assembly of the protein into fibrils is accelerated with increasing NP concentration within an optimal range, which is attributed to a fibrillation-competent conformation of the peptides. The latter was explained by the formation of favorable hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interactions, and efficient surface energy transfer between NPs and proteins.
Three new sensitizers for photoelectrochemical solar cells were synthesized consisting of a triphenylamine donor, a rhodanine-3-acetic acid acceptor and a polyene connection. The conjugation length ...was systematically increased, which resulted in two effects: first, it led to a red-shift of the optical absorption of the dyes, resulting in an improved spectral overlap with the solar spectrum. Secondly, the oxidation potential decreased systematically. The excited state levels were, however, calculated to be nearly stationary. The experimental trends were in excellent agreement with density functional theory (DFT) computations. The photovoltaic performance of this set of dyes as sensitizers in mesoporous TiO2 solar cells was investigated using electrolytes containing the iodide/triiodide redox couple. The dye with the best absorption characteristics showed the poorest solar cell efficiency, due to losses by recombination of electrons in TiO2 with triiodide. Addition of 4-tert butylpyridine to the electrolyte led to a strongly reduced photocurrent for all dyes due to a reduced electron injection efficiency, caused by a 0.15 V negative shift of the TiO2 conduction band potential.
Sourdough fermentation is considered to have beneficial effects on postprandial satiety and metabolic responses, but studies demonstrating effects at physiological conditions are lacking. The aim of ...this acute breakfast intervention study was to determine the effect of consumption of sourdough-fermented and unfermented rye crispbread on self-rated appetite, postprandial glucose and insulin response in healthy subjects. In all, twenty-four Swedish adults were included in a single-blinded, randomised cross-over trial. Three crispbreads (sourdough-fermented and unfermented whole grain rye and yeast-fermented refined wheat as control) were consumed as part of a standardised breakfast. Subjective appetite score, assessed using visual analogue scale, and plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were measured at baseline and postprandially until 360 and 240 min, respectively. Structural changes and viscosity during mastication and gastric digestion were investigated using in vitro methods. Hunger and desire to eat were lower (P<0·05) based on AUC measurements after intake of sourdough-fermented rye crispbread compared with after intake of yeast-fermented refined wheat crispbread. On the basis of AUC (0–230 min), insulin response was lowest after intake of unfermented rye crispbread compared with sourdough-fermented rye and yeast-fermented refined wheat crispbread. Degradation of viscous fibres and faster bolus disintegration for the sourdough-fermented bread may partly explain the less favourable metabolic responses compared with unfermented bread. Our results showed that food processing affects the composition and structural characteristics of rye bread, which has implications for appetite and metabolic responses.
A wide range of research has promised new tools for forecasting infectious disease dynamics, but little of that research is currently being applied in practice, because tools do not address key ...public health needs, do not produce probabilistic forecasts, have not been evaluated on external data, or do not provide sufficient forecast skill to be useful. We developed an open collaborative forecasting challenge to assess probabilistic forecasts for seasonal epidemics of dengue, a major global public health problem. Sixteen teams used a variety of methods and data to generate forecasts for 3 epidemiological targets (peak incidence, the week of the peak, and total incidence) over 8 dengue seasons in Iquitos, Peru and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Forecast skill was highly variable across teams and targets. While numerous forecasts showed high skill for midseason situational awareness, early season skill was low, and skill was generally lowest for high incidence seasons, those for which forecasts would be most valuable. A comparison of modeling approaches revealed that average forecast skill was lower for models including biologically meaningful data and mechanisms and that both multimodel and multiteam ensemble forecasts consistently outperformed individual model forecasts. Leveraging these insights, data, and the forecasting framework will be critical to improve forecast skill and the application of forecasts in real time for epidemic preparedness and response. Moreover, key components of this project—integration with public health needs, a common forecasting framework, shared and standardized data, and open participation—can help advance infectious disease forecasting beyond dengue.
Maternal diet modifies epigenetic programming in offspring, a potentially critical factor in the immune dysregulation of modern societies. We previously found that prenatal fish oil supplementation ...affects neonatal T-cell histone acetylation of genes implicated in adaptive immunity including PRKCZ, IL13, and TBX21. In this study, we measured H3 and H4 histone acetylation levels by chromatin immunoprecipitation in 173 term placentas collected in the prospective birth cohort, ALADDIN, in which information on lifestyle and diet is thoroughly recorded. In anthroposophic families, regular olive oil usage during pregnancy was associated with increased H3 acetylation at FOXP3 (p = 0.004), IL10RA (p = 0.008), and IL7R (p = 0.007) promoters, which remained significant after adjustment by offspring gender. Furthermore, maternal fish consumption was associated with increased H4 acetylation at the CD14 gene in placentas of female offspring (p = 0.009). In conclusion, prenatal olive oil intake can affect placental histone acetylation in immune regulatory genes, confirming previously observed pro-acetylation effects of olive oil polyphenols. The association with fish consumption may implicate ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids present in fish oil. Altered histone acetylation in placentas from mothers who regularly include fish or olive oil in their diets could influence immune priming in the newborn.