1,721,079 research outputs found
Plant Foods and Underutilized Fruits as Source of Functional Food Ingredients Chemical Composition, Quality Traits, and Biological Properties
No full textChanges in lifestyle and demographics, rising consumer incomes, and shifting preferences
due to advanced knowledge about the relationships between food and health contribute to generate new needs in the food supply. Today, the role of food is not only intended as hunger satisfaction and nutrient supply but also as an opportunity to prevent nutrition-related diseases and improve physical and mental well-being. For this reason, there is a growing interest in the novel or less well-known plant foods that offer an opportunity for health maintenance. Recently, interest in plant foods and underutilized fruits is continuously growing, and agrobiodiversity exploitation offers effective and extraordinary potentialities. Plant foods could be an important source of health promoting compounds and functional food ingredients with beneficial properties: the description of the quality and physicochemical traits, the identification and quantification of bioactive compounds, and the evaluation of their biological activities are important to assess plant food efficacy as functional foods or source of food supplement ingredients
Foods and agro-food wastes valorization by eco-compatible innovative techniques and formulation of new enriched and/or functional products
No full textDurante il mio dottorato di ricerca ho lavorato su diversi progetti sotto la
supervisione della Prof.ssa Paola Zunin e della Prof.ssa Raffaella Boggia.
Il principale obiettivo del mio lavoro è stata la valorizzazione di alcuni alimenti
e scarti agro-alimentari nell’ottica della formulazione di nuovi prodotti arricchiti e
o funzionali, sia in ambito alimentare che cosmetico.
In particolare, le linee di ricerca che ho seguito hanno avuto come oggetto
diverse matrici alimentari, tra cui:
• Le olive come substrato per la realizzazione di un alimento arricchito;
• Il melograno ed in particolare la valorizzazione ed il recupero dei
sottoprodotti derivanti dalla produzione del succo, come potenziali
fonti di composti bioattivi polifenolici;
• Il riso ‘Violet Nori’, una varietà autoctona piemontese di riso colorato
ad elevato contenuto in antocianine preziose che lo rende un
prodotto ad importante valore aggiunto oltre ad un lavoro di
valorizzazione delle foglie di tale pianta.
Presupposto comune per questi studi è stato lo sviluppo e l’utilizzo di tecniche
estrattive innovative, a basso impatto ed eco – compatibili sia in accordo con i
principi della green chemistry (EPA) sia di un’economia sostenibile e circolare.
Le olive, che rappresentano un prodotto tipico della Regione Liguria, sono
state utilizzate come substrato per la realizzazione di un alimento arricchito con
Ferro mediante l’utilizzo dell’impregnazione sottovuoto (Vacuum impregnation,
VI). Lo spunto per intraprendere questo lavoro è stata la crescente necessità di
avere a disposizione alimenti fortificati con ferro a causa del costante ed
importante aumento delle diete vegetariane e vegane in Italia e nel mondo.
Tramite la VI è stato possibile ottenere un prodotto arricchito che consente di
introdurre una quantità di ferro pari al fabbisogno giornaliero mediante
l’assunzione di pochi frutti. Il lavoro ha dimostrato come una tecnica innovativa e rapida, quale la VI,
possa apportare un reale contributo all’arricchimento degli alimenti con sostanze
fisiologicamente utili e alla realizzazione di alimenti funzionali destinati ad una
specifica fetta di consumatori.La seconda linea di ricerca si è focalizzata sul frutto del melograno di cui
sono già note numerose proprietà funzionali e salutistiche.
I sottoprodotti derivanti dalla lavorazione del succo di melograno
rappresentano sia un importante ed oneroso problema di smaltimento legato alle
ingenti quantità prodotte sia una promettente fonte di potenziali nutraceutici. In
particolare, sia le bucce (esocarpo) che lo scarto interno ottenuto dopo la
spremitura del succo, ossia i residui di mesocarpo, endocarpo e arilli, solitamente
scartati, hanno dimostrato di essere ancora una buona fonte di polifenoli.
A fini estrattivi sono state impiegate alcune tecnologie green, come
l'estrazione assistita con ultrasuoni (UAE) e l'estrazione assistita con microonde
(MAE), utilizzando solventi eco-compatibili, per convertire tali residui organici in
prodotti ad alto valore aggiunto e, conseguentemente, per la messa a punto di
un processo di riciclo agronomico applicabile a livello industriale. Gli estratti liquidi
ottenuti sono stati essiccati e formulati mediante la tecnologia Spray-drying e
successivamente, utilizzati quali ingredienti funzionali in un alimento modello
mediante la VI.
Il colore viola intenso delle cariossidi e delle foglie della varietà ‘Violet Nori’
hanno invece stimolato l’inizio di uno studio volto al recupero dei composti ad
attività antiossidante da tali prodotti.
Lo scopo di questo lavoro è stato quello di sviluppare un metodo economico
ed eco-compatibile per l’estrazione delle antocianine e di altri composti
antiossidanti idrofili dalle cariossidi, dalle farine e dalle foglie del riso ‘Violet Nori’
ed effettuare un confronto oltre che tra i prodotti della varietà ‘Violet Nori’ anche
con estratti di cariossidi di altre tipologie di risi colorati reperibili sul mercato
locale.
Lo studio effettuato sulle cariossidi ha confermato il loro interesse come fonti
di antocianine e di altri composti antiossidante, apparsi spesso maggiori che in
altre varietà di riso colorato. Lo studio effettuato sulle foglie, un sottoprodotto della
produzione del riso, ha dimostrato il loro interesse in vista di un loro potenziale
impiego come materia prima a basso costo per l’estrazione di antocianine
preziose per uso alimentare, nutraceutico e cosmeceutico.
La mia attività di ricerca ha più marginalmente riguardato anche lo studio di
altri prodotti alimentari come:
• I gemmo derivati, una categoria di prodotti naturali classificati nella
Comunità europea come integratori alimentari a base erboristica, ottenuti
per macerazione dei tessuti meristematici freschi di alberi e piante
erbacee i quali differentemente dalle corrispondenti parti adulte vantano elevati contenuti in composti nutritivi che conferiscono ai prodotti derivati
un elevato valore aggiunto;
• Alcune tipologie di latti in polvere destinati ai neonati al fine di
individuarne la composizione di acidi grassi (totali e "liberi" ossia
incapsulati) e valutarne il grado di ossidazione a seguito dell'apertura
della confezione;
• Il tè verde utilizzando la spettroscopia a fluorescenza, una tecnica
veloce, non distruttiva ed economica, abbinata alla chemiometria per
l'autenticazione e la discriminazione della tipologia di tè in base alla sua
origine geografica
Rapid analytical strategies for the identification of the botanical species of several "specialty" or "gourmet" oils
No full textA comprehensive data collection of "authentic" cold-pressed industrial virgin oils was performed. Eight different botanical species, i.e. nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, apricot, avocado, sunflower, rosehip and rosa moschata plus olive were studied as the gold standard of cold-pressed virgin oils. Both organic and conventional supply chains were considered, as well as the different geographical origins and any preliminary steps carried out on raw materials (e.g. roasting). Two different analytical approaches are proposed to rapidly verify the botanical species of the origin of the oil-based raw material. The first approach is based on a multivariate statistical approach of conventional analytical data, namely their fatty acid composition. These data have been re-elaborated in a multivariate way by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and classification methods. The second approach proposes a fast and non-destructive spectrophotometric analysis strategy to determine the color of these oils as a marker of their botanical authenticity. In this regard, the raw diffuse reflectance spectra (380-700 nm) obtained by a UV-Vis spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere is considered and elaborated by chemometrics. This information is compared with the results obtained by most common approach based on the CIELAB parameters
Potentialities of Rapid Analytical Strategies for the Identification of the Botanical Species of Several “Specialty” or “Gourmet” Oils
No full textA comprehensive data collection of authentic “specialty” or “gourmet” oils, namely cold-pressed industrial virgin oils, was performed. Eight different botanical species, i.e., Almond, Apricot, Avocado, Hazelnut, Mosqueta rose, Rosehip, Sunflower, and Walnut oils were studied plus Olive oil as the gold standard of cold-pressed virgin oils. Two different analytical approaches are proposed to rapidly verify the botanical species of the oil-based raw material. The first approach is based on a multivariate statistical analysis of conventional analytical data, namely their fatty acid composition. These data have been re-elaborated in a multivariate way by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and classification methods. The second approach proposes a fast and non-destructive spectrophotometric analysis to determine the color of these oils to discriminate among different species. In this regard, the raw diffuse reflectance spectra (380–780 nm) obtained by a UV-Vis spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere was considered and elaborated by chemometrics. This information was compared with the results obtained by the most common approach based on the CIELab parameters. A data fusion of chromatographic and spectral data was also investigated. Either fatty acid composition or color of these oils demonstrated to be two promising markers of their botanical authenticit
‘Specialty’ or ‘Gourmet’ oils: a multivariate statistical approach for the rapid identification of their botanical species
No full textIn the last decade, the increase of consumers’ preferences for the pleasant sensorial features of oils of different botanical origin has favored the diffusion of the so-called ‘specialty’ or ‘gourmet’ oils, namely cold-pressed industrial virgin oils obtained from seeds, fruits, and nuts1. Besides their flavor and aroma, the peculiar features of ‘gourmet’ oils lay in their alleged health promoting activities2, and in their low global production amounts, which result in their high costs. However, the recent market deregulation of virgin and/or cold pressed vegetable oils, and at the same time their high commercial value, asks for analytical methods which assess their authenticity. The aim of this study was evaluating the possibility to identify the botanical origin of the oil-based raw material by the routine analysis of their fatty acid composition coupled with chemometric methods and to explore also a new untargeted approach to their identification applying just their color analysis. A comprehensive data collection of authentic ‘gourmet’ oils, belonging to eight different botanical species (i.e., Almond, Apricot, Avocado, Hazelnut, Mosqueta rose, Rosehip, Sunflower, and Walnut) plus Olive oil as the gold standard of cold-pressed virgin oils, was performed. Their fatty acid composition has been re-elaborated in a statistical multivariate approach applying Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and classification methods. Moreover, a simple, rapid, and non-destructive spectrophotometric analysis has been considered to discriminate among different species. Particularly, the raw diffuse reflectance spectra recorded in the spectral range 380-780 nm by a UV-Vis spectrophotometer endowed with an integrating sphere was taken into account and elaborated by chemometrics. This information was compared with the results obtained by the most common approach based on the CIELab parameters and a fusion matrix of chromatographic and spectral data was also investigated. Both the fatty acid composition and the color (total spectrum and colorimetric parameters) of these vegetal oils have proven to be two promising markers of their botanical authenticity.
[1] N. Cicero, A. Albergamo, A. Salvo, G.D. Bua, G. Bartolomeo, V. Mangano, A. Rotondo, V. Di Stefano, G. Di Bella, G. Dugo, Food Res. Int. 2018, 109, 517–525.
[2] E.M. Hernandez, Functional Dietary Lipids—Food Formulation. 2016, 69–101
Total and "free" lipids in commercial infant formulas: fatty acid composition and their stability to oxidation
No full textThe aim of this paper was to study the fatty acid composition of total and "free" lipids in powdered infant milks and to evaluate the fatty acid oxidation after package opening. In its first step the application of Principal Component Analysis and Design of Experiments has allowed to take a comprehensive picture of powdered infant formulas on sale in Italy on the basis of their labelled composition and to select a limited number of representative samples. Both total and "non encapsulated" or "free" lipids were considered and analyzed and no significant differences were found between their fatty acids contents. The possible modification of the fatty acid composition in the "free" lipids caused by oxidation was also studied, simulating the domestic habits after opening. No significant changes were observed up to 30 days even when formulas had an high content of unsaturated fatty acids and valuable Long Chain Polyunsaturated fatty acids
Analisi non distruttive per la valorizzazione degli scarti di produzione di una categoria di integratori alimentari a base erboristica: i gemmoderivati
No full textOlive fruits and vacuum impregnation, an interesting combination for dietetic iron enrichment
No full textIn this study vacuum impregnation (VI) was
employed for the iron enrichment of olive fruits, which
are very interesting as food vehicle for VI mineral supplementation
for the porosity of their pulp. NaFeEDTA
was chosen for olives fortification since it prevents iron
from binding with compounds that could hinder it from
being efficiently absorbed and since it causes few
organoleptic problems. In order to improve the efficiency
of the VI process, several parameters of the whole process
were studied by design of experiment techniques. First of
all D-optimal design was employed for a preliminary
screening of the most significant process variables and
showed that the concentration of VI solution was by far
the most significant process variable, though its time in
contact with olives was also significant. A factorial design
was then applied to the remaining variables and it showed
that the speed of the addition of VI solution was also
significant. Finally, the application of a face centered
composite design to the three selected variables allowed
to detect processing conditions leading to final iron contents
of 1.5–3 mg/g, corresponding to an introduction of
10–15 mg Fe with four or five fortified olive fruits. No
effect on olive taste was observed at these concentrations.
The results showed that olive fruits were the most interesting
vehicles for the supplementation of both iron and
other minerals
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