1,721,017 research outputs found
Amaranthus: a crop to rediscover
No full textMother Nature supplies human kind with a wide array of edible species, although humans do not take advantage of all of them. Grains make up more than 80% of the world food supply, and unfortunately it has been reported that per capita grain production has been declining for the past 23 years. This suggests that an increasing amount of agricultural resources will be required to satisfy human nutritional needs. The studying of ancient population eating patterns and habits demonstrated that a large number of crops have been abandoned since centuries no matter if they were a simple growing valid source of high nutritional food and high biological compounds.
One of these ancient crops is Amaranth. Due to its agronomic and nutritional properties as well as its richness in bioactive compounds, this crop could represent an interesting option in order to increase alternative source of protein with high biological value, good quality starch, gluten-free products and squalene. The objective of this paper is to describe amaranth main botanical, physical and nutritional properties to illustrate amaranth potentialities in the food and no food sector
Le “sweet proteins”: una nuova opportunità nel settore dei dolcificanti
No full textIn questi ultimi anni le aziende che producono e commercializzano i dolcificanti hanno indirizzato
sempre più la loro ricerca allo studio di nuovi prodotti dotati di un elevato potere
dolcificante ma, nello stesso tempo, di un apporto calorico molto ridotto o addirittura nullo. Gli
studi hanno condotto alla scoperta di diversi composti naturali, per lo più di origine proteica, con
un potere edulcorante molto elevato. Queste sostanze si estraggono dai frutti di piante tropicali e
sono indicate come “sweet proteins” (proteine dolci) e sono la taumatina (l’unica ad essere stata
approvata dalla Unione Europea), la brazzeina, la pentadina, la monellina, la curculina, la mabinilina
e la miraculina. Dette sostanze, oltre a svolgere la funzione dolcificante possono anche
modificare il gusto dell’alimento o della bevanda a cui sono addizionate migliorandone le caratteristiche
organolettiche. Ad esempio, addizionate ai dolcificanti artificiali ne eliminano il
retrogusto o attenuano l’asprezza caratteristica di alcuni prodotti. C’è tuttavia da precisare che le
sweet proteins non sono molto stabili, spesso si denaturano alle elevate temperature e alla variazione
del pH, per cui non possono essere impiegate nei prodotti da forno o in quelli ad elevata
acidità. Obiettivo della presente ricerca è lo studio delle caratteristiche tecnico-economiche delle
sweet proteins evidenziandone le potenzialità e le criticità riguardanti il loro impiego. Verrà
inoltre esaminata la legislazione che disciplina questo settore prestando anche molta attenzione
all’informazione del consumatore, circa la diversa natura dei dolcificanti, spesso non corretta e
fuorviante
Il riutilizzo dei rifiuti alimentari: il caso dell’olio alimentare esausto. Nota I
No full textOver the years, eating habits in Italy and in the other industrialized countries have undergone many changes. The use of vegetable oils in our country is estimated to be over 1.5 million t/y, used both for domestic cooking and by the catering industry. From this widespread use, 300,000 t (20%) of used cooking oil is derived, a waste which is a source of pollution if dispersed into the environment. This paper examines the characteristics of this waste oil and the potentials for its re-use and recycling
Jatropha Curcas a no edible versatile cultivar
No full textThe increasing recourse of biomass energy exploitation to obtain biofuels is a crucial option to answering to the growing transport energy demand much more sustainable. Up today, the production of biofuels and particularly of biodiesel is a realty with more than 13 million tons (Mt) and palm and rape oils are respectively the principal raw materials. In this scenario, Jatropha curcas a non-edible but a multipurpose plant could play an interesting role due its proper peculiarities. Not by chance, this cultivar receives a growing attention by researchers because from its management it is possible to obtain a wide range of energy and no-energy commodities. Furthermore, its exploitation could be a new concrete opportunity for rural areas development. The objective of this paper is to investigate Jatropha curcas potentialities to produce biodiesel and other different goods and raw materials for chemical, medical, pharmaceutical, and other industrial applications
GLI IMPIEGHI DELL'OLIO ALIMENTARE ESAUSTO COME FONTE DI ENERGIA E MATERIA PRIMA INDUSTRIALE. NOTA II
No full textIn our previous paper we analyzed the characteristics of waste cooking oil and its collection and reutilization. The production of this waste is increasing and it is a by-product of domestic cooking and catering industry. In this paper we analyze several uses of waste cooking oil in order to underline the potentials to increase the recovered and reused amounts. The promising industrial sector seems to be the energetic one. The applications in the other industrial sectors are technically good but still poorly profitable. Probably the main obstacle is that the monetary value technique ignores the environmental burden related to the waste disposa
Il ciclo di lavorazione del caffè ed i suoi sottoprodotti. Nota I: aspetti quantitativi
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