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Tailored bioprocessing of brewers’ spent grain for the development of upcycled plant-based spoonable snacks
No full textReintegration of brewers' spent grain (BSG) into the food system remains a challenge. In this study, BSG underwent enzyme hydrolysis with Ondea Pro, followed by fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum POM1 or Pediococcus claussenii DSM 14800. Both bacterial strains exhausted C6 sugars and lowered the pH to below 4. This bioprocessing approach increased the total polyphenol, antioxidant capacity, and free amino acid content in a strain-dependent manner. Enzyme hydrolysis contributed to an increase in low molecular weight dietary fibre content, while fermentation reduced the abundance of volatile organic compounds with off-flavours such as malty, grassy and pungent, and increased fruity, citrus, sour and sweet aroma compounds. Unprocessed (control) and bioprocessed BSG were then used as ingredients for semi-solid -spoonable snack prototypes with or without strawberry purée. A consumer sensory study involving 119 untrained participants showed higher liking for unprocessed samples, likely due to the bitter taste of the bioprocessed samples. However, adding purée increased the liking in all cases, while only fermentation could enhance the presumably desired aroma notes and reduce the presumably undesired cereal aroma and flavour. These findings suggested that tailored bioprocessing, informed by sensory data, could support the development of functional upcycled food with a cleaner ingredients label
Complex Coacervation for Encapsulation of Bioactive Compounds, Nutrients, and Probiotics
No full textCoacervation is one of the earliest microencapsulation techniques, which has been commercially used since the 1950s. Complex coacervation involves the interaction of oppositely charged polymers in aqueous form. Gelatin-Arabic gum coacervates have been successfully produced and used in many applications, especially as vehicles for lipophilic molecules. Recently, successful strategies to encapsulate hydrophilic molecules by complex coacervation were investigated, including the production of double emulsions as a previous step before the coacervation. This technique also encapsulated particles and probiotics based on their previous immobilization in high melting point vegetable fats. Concerning polymeric materials, novel proposals based on plant proteins are growing due to flexitarianism. Also, food by-products are sources of polysaccharides, such as pectins and gums, which are sustainable polyelectrolytes to produce complexes. Complementary studies of release mechanisms are relevant to avoid the premature expulsion of bioactive compounds after incorporation in food matrixes and in vitro digestion. The scalability of complex coacervation in the food industry still needs to be explored, but combining a physical method, such as spray-nozzle, could enhance their feasibility. Thus, it is unquestionable that complex coacervation is a multifaceted microencapsulation technique, and the advances in colloid technology reflect their potentiality for the protection of bioactive compounds for food incorporation, besides many other functionalities. This protocol intends to guide the reader along the key steps to complex coacervation encapsulation, including the selection of polymers, operational conditions, the techniques for coacervate evaluation, as well as give an overview of the most critical influencing factors (e.g., concentration and proportion of biopolymers, pH, the concentration of bioactive compound, homogenization conditions, and temperature). It provides tips on how to deal with some troubleshooting, such as culturing probiotic cells before the microencapsulation, procedures for disrupting coacervates, and poor stability over shelf-life or under environmental/processing conditions
Textural aspects and digestibility of a high-protein dessert using INFOGEST's adult and older adult static in vitro digestion models
No full textProtein-rich foods tailored to older adult's dietary needs, textures and digestive capabilities are essential to help mitigate sarcopenia and malnutrition. This study developed two high protein dulce de leche type of desserts that were enriched with whey protein isolate (WPI-DD) alone or in combination with whey protein hydrolysate (WPI + WPH-DD). Their texture, rheology and tribology were characterized against a conventional dulce de leche (control). Protein digestibility was assessed using INFOGEST's in vitro static digestions simulating the adult and older adult gastrointestinal tract (G.I.T). Amino acid profiling revealed an expected increase in total amino acid content 68.4 mg/g (control) to 183.9 and 188.11 mg/g product, with leucine increasing from 5.5 to 19.7 and 20.37 mg/g product, for WPI-DD and WPI + WPH-DD respectively. Both protein-enriched products had a lower firmness and viscoelastic moduli than the control. In the presence of saliva, WPI + WPH-DD showed higher friction coefficients in the boundary and mixed regimes than WPI-DD and the control, indicating reduced lubrication. Size-exclusion chromatography revealed lower gastric proteolysis in the older adult model, with whey proteins resisting pepsin hydrolysis in both age models. Small intestine proteolysis was highly efficient for the enriched desserts, with less pronounced age-related differences. The hydrolysate-containing formulation showed faster leucine release. Both whey-based formulations achieved >95 % protein digestibility, with digestible indispensable amino acid ratios (DIAAR%) ≥100 %, even under older adult conditions. Coupling INFOGEST's age-specific in vitro digestion models with texture, rheology and tribology profiling provides insights into designing food for older adults that meet both nutritional and textural needs
Complement 3 (C3) within the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus is a potential key mediator of the effect of enhanced nutrition on reproductive development in young bull calves
No full textAbstract Background Reproductive development may be advanced in bull calves through enhanced dietary intake during the early life period. This effect between enhanced nutrition with subsequent earlier reproductive development is orchestrated through signalling within the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis. Within the hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus (ARC) is crucial for the integration of peripheral metabolic status with subsequent gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) signalling; however, the precise molecular control regulating this effect is not fully known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the global transcriptomic and proteomic responses to varied plane of nutrition during early calf-hood in young dairy bull calves. Additionally, we sought to integrate these ‘omics’ datasets to determine key genes and proteins contributing to earlier reproductive development. Between 2–12 weeks of age, 30 Holstein-Friesian bull calves (mean age: 17.5 days; mean bodyweight 48.8 kg), were offered either a high or moderate plane of nutrition with 15 calves in each group. At 12 weeks of age, all calves were euthanised and the ARC tissue isolated from each calf. The ARC tissue was then used for global transcriptomic (miRNAseq and mRNAseq) and proteomic analyses. Results Bioinformatic analyses were undertaken to determine differentially expressed transcripts (FDR 1.5) between the dietary treatment groups, resulting in the identification of 1 differentially expressed miRNA (miR-2419-3p) and 83 differentially expressed mRNA in the ARC region. mRNA target gene prediction identified Complement 3 (C3) as a target of miR-2419-3p, suggesting a relationship between the two transcripts. Furthermore, through a co-regulatory network analysis conducted on the proteomics dataset, C3 was revealed as a hub protein. Additionally, through the proteomic network analysis, C3 was interacting with proteins involved in both insulin and GnRH signalling, highlighting a potential role for C3 in mediated the effect of enhanced nutritional status with earlier reproductive development within the ARC. Conclusion This study highlights an effect of altered plane of nutrition in early life on the molecular control of the hypothalamic ARC. Additionally, results generated suggest a potential role for the C3 gene in mediating the interaction between enhanced metabolic status with reproductive development within the ARC, regulated by miR-2419-3p
Reassessing the warming impact of methane emissions from Irish livestock using GWP*: historical trends and sustainable futures
Full text linkPeer-reviewedMethane from livestock production contributes significantly to Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions. Methane emissions are generally expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) using the global warming potential (GWP) metric, but this conversion may result in an inaccurate assessment, because methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifespan than CO2. This study calculated the CO2e of methane emissions from Irish livestock using the GWP and GWP* metrics, the latter of which accounts for the short-lived nature of atmospheric methane. Methane emissions from all Irish livestock (1961–2020) were included and three projected scenarios to 2050 were hypothesised: increasing emissions, decreasing emissions and constant emissions. The CO2e of methane from Irish livestock was found to be influenced by changes in the rate of emission over the preceding decades. Using the GWP* metric, declining populations of donkeys and horses from 1961 to 2000 were shown to cause atmospheric removals of methane when expressed as CO2e. Increasing populations of swine and non-dairy cattle (in response to industrial changes and European Union [EU] regulations) saw significant increases in the CO2e of methane emissions from these sources. Milk quotas caused a significant reduction in the CO2e of methane emissions from dairy cows, and atmospheric removals were observed in the years 1990–2012. GWP* indicated that the constant and decreasing future emission scenarios gave more significant reductions in CO2e than the GWP. These results indicate the importance of the effect of emission rate on the CO2e of methane from Irish livestock, which is accounted for using GWP*, but not by the conventional GWP
Relationships between pig farm management and facilities and lung lesions' scores and between lung lesions scores and carcass characteristics
Full text linkpeer-reviewAbstract
Background
The objective of this study was to examine the inter-relationships between pig farm management and facilities (as assessed by questionnaire) and post-mortem lung lesion (lung score assesment), which are the result of respiratory infections. The relationships between carcass characteristics and post-mortem lung lesion scores were also investigated.
Results
Questionnaire responses were collected from 22 self-selecting pig farmers about their farm facilities/management and health condition of the respiratory system of pigs, including the occurrence of clinical respiratory signs, results of laboratory testing for respiratory pathogens, and the use of respiratory vaccines. When fatteners were sent to the abattoir, their carcasses (n = 1,976) were examined for evidence of respiratory disease by lung lesion (pleuritis pneumonia-like (PP-like) and enzootic pneumonia-like (EP-like) lesions) scoring and the Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Index (APPI) was calculated. Carcass characteristics were recorded and, retrospectively, the prevalence of cachectic pigs was calculated. Using these variables, the relationships between farm facilities/management and lung lesions scores and the relationships between the latter and carcass characteristics and cachexia were explored. The key findings relating farm facilities and management to lung lesions were: slatted floors were associated with significantly higher EP-like lesions scores than litter bedding in weaners, single-stage fattening in the same building was associated with significantly higher EP-like lesions scores than two-stage fattening, but herd size, stocking density, use of all-in/all-out (AIAO) rule, technological break duration and variation in daily temperature did not affect lung lesions scores. The key findings relating lung lesion scores to carcass characteristics were: a significant, negative correlation between EP-like scores and carcass weight but not with other carcass characteristics, a significant positive correlation between PP-like scores and carcass meat content and prevalence of cachectic carcasses and a significant positive correlation between lung APPI and prevalence of cachectic carcasses.
Conclusions
It can be concluded that both farm facilities and management affect lung lesions scores and that the latter affect carcass characteristics. Lung lesion scoring is an inexpensive technique suitable for rapid monitoring of large numbers of carcasses that can be performed after animal slaughter. It provides useful information to inform producers about possible deficits in farm facilities or management and is a predictor of economic loss due to poorer quality carcasses
Effect of enhanced plane of nutrition in early life on the transcriptome and proteome of the anterior pituitary gland in Angus heifer calves
Full text linkAbstract
Background
Enhanced nutrition during the early calfhood period has been shown to lead to earlier pubertal development in heifer calves. This is of interest as earlier pubertal onset can subsequently facilitate earlier calving which can economically benefit production systems. Reproductive development in heifers is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian signalling pathway. In particular the anterior pituitary gland is central to reproductive development, through the dynamics of gonadotropic pulsatility. However, despite clear knowledge of the influence of enhanced dietary intake on subsequent reproductive development, the molecular control governing this response in the pituitary gland within the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian signalling axis in heifer calves is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of an enhanced plane of nutrition during early life on the anterior pituitary gland of heifer calves through both transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. Between 3 and 21 weeks of age, heifer calves were offered either a high (HI, n = 14) or moderate (MOD, n = 14) plane of nutrition, designed to elicit target growth rates of 1.2 and 0.5 kg/d for HI and MOD groups, respectively. All calves were euthanised at 21 weeks of age and anterior pituitary tissue harvested for subsequent use in global transcriptomic and proteomic analyses.
Results
Average daily gain was affected by diet (P 1.5), with 277 proteins identified as differentially abundant (Padj 1.5) between contrasting dietary treatment groups. Biochemical pathway analysis of differentially affected genes and proteins revealed an enrichment for both growth hormone and GnRH signalling pathways (Padj.<0.05). Additionally, pathway analysis predicted an effect of enhanced dietary intake on endocrine function within the anterior pituitary gland as well as on reproductive system development and function (Padj.<0.05).
Conclusions
Results from this study show that an enhanced dietary intake during early calfhood affected the molecular control of the anterior pituitary gland in heifer calves in early life
Exploring the presence of genotype-by-environment interactions between dairy cow herds milking once-a-day or twice-a-day for the entire lactation
Full text linkPeer-reviewedThe objective was to explore if the regression of phenotypic performance for six milk production traits on the respective estimate of genetic merit for that trait differed by herd milking frequency; variance components for each trait in the two milking frequency environments were also estimated as well as the genetic correlation between the same trait in both environments. The data used included 12,581 lactations from 5,456 cows in 32 spring-calving once-a-day (OAD) milking herds. Each OAD herd was matched with three contemporary twice-a-day (TAD)-milking herds; 35,823 lactations from 15,188 cows in 96 TAD herds were used. Mean yield was 20% (fat yield) to 31% (milk yield) lower in OAD herds. Milk protein concentration was 11% higher in OAD herds, while milk fat concentration was 16% higher in OAD herds. The mean back-transformed somatic cell score (SCS) was 100,390 cells/mL in OAD herds and 72,493 cells/mL in TAD herds. The association between each milk production trait and its respective estimate of genetic merit differed by herd milking frequency; the estimated regression coefficients were larger in TAD for just milk yield and SCS. The genetic correlation between the same trait in OAD versus TAD was all ≥0.73 with the exception of SCS (genetic correlation of 0.48) which suggests some re-ranking of sires between environments. In conclusion, differences in the scale of the genetic variance were evident for both milking frequencies and possible re-ranking was evident for SCS
Utilization of microwave dielectric microscopy for assessing compositional and technological quality of beef patties
No full textMonitoring the quality of value-added meat products is a challenging task to ensure
the desired nutrients and sensorial by consumers and promote traceability in the meat
industry. In this study, a microwave dielectric spectroscopy was feasibly investigates as an
offline sensing system for beef patties. The benchtop system that works in the transmission
mode (300 kHz to 3 GHz) comprised a parameters test set device coupled with a network
analyzer, and the studied model system was beef patties that was formulated through six
fat ratios (5-30%), two mincing levels (coarse, fine), and three muscles (round, brisket, and
chuck steak), which resulted in testing 360 samples. Critical quality attributes included
Water Holding Capacity (WHC), moisture, protein and fat contents. Predictive models
were developed using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) and 4-fold cross validation
was utilized to conclude the optimal calibration models that was then applied on a separate
test set. Results obtained for the test set showed correlation coefficient(Root Mean Square
Error of Prediction) or r(RMSEP) values of 84.07%(3.15%) for moisture, 86.45%(3.87%)
for fat, 69.98%(1.82%) for protein, and 52.12%(11.68%) for WHC. This study presented
a feasible application of microwave dielectric technology as a rapid quality assurance
methodology for ensuring transparency and resilient traceability of processed meats
Impact of pre-treatments and bioprocessing on the carbohydrate and polyphenol profile of brewers’ spent grain
No full textBrewers’ spent grain (BSG), the solid waste of the brewing industry, is high in fibres, proteins and health-beneficial compounds such as polyphenols. This research investigated bioprocessing with enzymes and microbes to modify the properties of BSG for its utilisation as a food ingredient. Pre-treatment studies showed that wet milling performed better than dry milling, and heat and homogenisation either before or after the enzyme hydrolysis did not significantly influence the release of reducing sugars and free amino nitrogen (FAN). Four treatments were applied to wet-milled BSG: fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum POM1 with or without the enzyme Ondea pro and enzymatic bioprocessing without any fermentation. Control was the condition without enzyme and starter. Without the enzyme, there was negligible free sugar and FAN, and the starter had limited growth and organic acid production. Only the combination of enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation reached a pH of 4 and 10 mg/g DW lactic acid. The microbial preference for monosaccharides was evident, and the enzyme influenced the release of oligosaccharides that can have a prebiotic effect. Bioprocessing impacted the phenolic acid composition and microbial consumption, with a significant release of ferulic acid during enzyme hydrolysis