Physiological relevance of food grade microcapsules: Impact of milk protein based microcapsules on inflammation in mouse models for inflammatory bowel diseases

In order to increase beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in functional food and dietary supplements, enormous efforts are put in the technological development of microcapsules. Although these products are often tailor‐made for disease susceptible consumer, the physiological impact of microcapsule uptake on the respective target consumer has never been addressed. The present study aimed to assess the relevance of this aspect by analyzing the impact of milk protein based microcapsules on experimental inflammatory bowel disease. Long‐term feeding of sodium caseinate or rennet gel microcapsules resulted in significant alterations in the intestinal microbiota of healthy mice. In TNFΔARE/wt mice, a model for chronic ileal inflammation, rennet gel microcapsules resulted in further increased splenomegaly, whereas ileal inflammation was unchanged. In IL10^?/? mice, a model for chronic colitis, both types of microcapsules induced a local increase of the intestinal inflammation. The present study is the first to demonstrate that, independent of their cargo, microcapsules have the potential to affect the intestinal microbiota and to exert unprecedented detrimental effects on disease‐susceptible individuals. In conclusion, the impact of microcapsule uptake on the respective target consumer groups should be thoroughly investigated in advance to their commercial use in functional food or dietary supplements.     

生物聚合物的创新应用

描述了生物聚合物的创新应用.探索了两种趋势的原因.首先,最近三年中,原油价格猛涨,各种衍生物的价格也随之上涨,促使人们寻找其他可能的原料.其次,欧洲农业处于重大变革的前夜,环境法律的实施,向世界经济的开放以及补贴的减少,促使农业寻找新的市场.玉米和糖用甜菜可能是未来的出路.     

Innovations in beef production systems that enhance the nutritional and health value of beef lipids and their relationship with meat quality

Consumers are becoming more aware of the relationships between diet and health and this has increased consumer interest in the nutritional value of foods. This is impacting on the demand for foods which contain functional components that play important roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. For beef, much attention has been given to lipids. This paper reviews strategies for increasing the content of beneficial omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and reducing saturated fatty acids (SFA) in beef. Particular attention is given to intramuscular fat (IMF) and the relationships between fatty acid composition and key meat quality parameters including colour shelf life and sensory attributes. Despite the high levels of ruminal biohydrogenation of dietary PUFA, nutrition is the major route for increasing the content of beneficial fatty acids in beef. Feeding grass or concentrates containing linseed (rich in α-linolenic acid, 18:3n-3) in the diet increases the content of 18:3n-3 and its longer chain derivative eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) in beef muscle and adipose tissue, resulting in a lower n-6:n-3 ratio. Grass feeding also increases docasahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3). Feeding PUFA rich lipids which are protected from ruminal biohydrogenation result in further enhancement of the PUFA in meat with concomitant beneficial improvements in the ratio of polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acids (P:S ratio) and n-6:n-3 ratio. The main CLA isomer in beef is CLA cis-9, trans-11 and it is mainly associated with the triacylglycerol lipid fraction and therefore is positively correlated with level of fatness. The level of CLA cis-9, trans-11 in beef is related to (1) the amount of this isomer produced in the rumen and (2) synthesis in the tissue, by delta-9 desaturase, from ruminally produced trans vaccenic acid (18:1 trans-11; TVA). Feeding PUFA-rich diets increases the content of CLA cis-9, trans-11 in beef. Trans-fatty acids in foods are of rising importance and knowledge of the differential effects of the individual trans isomers is increasing. TVA is the major trans 18:1 isomer in beef and as the precursor for tissue CLA in both animals and man should be considered as a neutral or beneficial trans-isomer. Increasing the content of n-3 PUFA in beef can influence colour shelf life and sensory attributes of the meat. As the content of n-3 PUFA increases then sensory attributes such as "greasy" and "fishy" score higher and colour shelf life may be reduced. Under these situations, high levels of vitamin E are necessary to help stabilise the effects of incorporating high levels of long chain PUFA into meat. However, grass feeding not only increases n-3 PUFA and CLA but, due to its high content of vitamin E, colour shelf life is improved. It is evident that opportunities exist to enhance the content of health promoting fatty acids in beef and beef products offering opportunities to add value and contribute to market differentiation. However, it is imperative that these approaches to deliver "functional" attributes do not compromise on the health value (lipoperoxidation) or the taste of beef products.     

Thioarsenates in geothermal waters of Yellowstone National Park: determination, preservation, and geochemical importance

Mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrathioarsenate, as well as methylated arsenic oxy- and thioanions, were determined besides arsenite and arsenate in geothermal waters of Yellowstone National Park using anion-exchange chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Retention time match with synthetic standards, measured S:As ratios, and molecular electrospray mass spectra support the identification. Acidification was unsuitable for arsenic species preservation in sulfidic waters, with HCI addition causing loss of total dissolved arsenic, presumably by precipitation of arsenic-sulfides. Flash-freezing is preferred for the preservation of arsenic species for several weeks. After thawing, samples must be analyzed immediately. Thioarsenates occurred over a pH range of 2.1 to 9.3 in the geothermal waters. They clearly predominated under alkaline conditions (up to 83% of total arsenic), but monothioarsenate also was detected in acidic waters (up to 34%). Kinetic studies along a drainage channel showed the importance of thioarsenates for the fate of arsenic discharged from the sulfidic hot spring. The observed arsenic speciation changes suggest three separate reactions: the transformation of trithioarsenate to arsenite (major initial reaction), the stepwise ligand exchange from tri- via di- and monothioarsenate to arsenate (minor reaction), and the oxidation of arsenite to arsenate, which only becomes quantitatively important after thioarsenates have disappeared.     

Comparison of pressure and heat resistance of Clostridium botulinum and other endospores in mashed carrots

Inactivation of bacterial endospores in food requires a combination of pressure and moderate heat. Endospore resistance of seven Clostridium botulinum strains was compared with those of Bacillus spp. (B. cereus, B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, B. smithii, B. amyloliquefaciens) and Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum with respect to pressure (600 to 800 MPa) and temperature (80 to 116 degrees C) treatments in mashed carrots. A large variation was observed in the pressure resistance of C. botulinum spores. Their reduction after treatments with 600 MPa at 80 degrees C for 1 s ranged from more than 5.5 log units to no reduction. Spores of the proteolytic C. botulinum TMW 2.357 exhibited a greater resistance to pressure than spores from all other bacteria examined, with the exception of B. amyloliquefaciens. Heat resistance of spores did not correlate with pressure resistance, either within strains of C. botulinum or when C. botulinum spores were compared with spores of T. thermosaccharolyticum. A quantitative release of dipicolinic acid was observed from C. botulinum spores on combined pressure and temperature treatments only after inactivation of more than 99.999% of the spores. Thus, dipicolinic acid is released by a physicochemical rather than a physiological process. The resistance of spores to combined pressure and temperature treatments correlated with their ability to retain dipicolinic acid. B. amyloliquefaciens, a mesophilic organism that forms highly pressure-resistant spores is proposed as a nonpathogenic target organism for high-pressure process development.     

Occurrence of benzene as a heat-induced contaminant of carrot juice for babies in a general survey of beverages

A survey of benzene contamination of 451 beverage samples, using headspace sampling combined with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS) with a quantification limit of 0.13 microg l(-1), was conducted. Artefactual benzene formation during headspace sampling was excluded by gentle heating at 50 degrees C only and adjustment of sample pH to 10. The incidence of benzene contamination in soft drinks, beverages for babies, alcopops and beer-mixed drinks was relatively low, with average concentrations below the EU drinking-water limit of 1 microg l(-1). Significantly higher concentrations were only found in carrot juice, with the highest levels in carrot juice specifically intended for infants. About 94% of 33 carrot juice for infants had detectable benzene levels, with an average concentration of 1.86 +/- 1.05 microg l(-1). Benzene contamination of beverages was significantly correlated to iron and copper concentrations, which act as catalyst in benzene formation. The formation of benzene in carrot juice was predominantly caused by a heat-induced mechanism, which explains the higher levels in infant carrot juices that are subject to higher heat-treatment to exclude microbiological contamination.     

Effect of a nonionic surfactant on biodegradation of slowly desorbing PAHs in contaminated soils

The influence of the nonionic surfactant Brij 35 on biodegradation of slowly desorbing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined in contaminated soils. We employed a soil originated from a creosote-polluted site, and a manufactured gas plant soil that had been treated by bioremediation. The two soils differed in their total content in five indicator 3-, 4-, and 5-ring PAHs (2923 mg kg(-1) and 183 mg kg(-1) in the creosote-polluted and bioremediated soils, respectively) but had a similar content (140 mg kg(-1) vs 156 mg kg(-1)) of slowly desorbing PAHs. The PAHs present in the bioremediated soil were highly recalcitrant. The surfactant at a concentration above its critical micelle concentration enhanced the biodegradation of slowly desorbing PAHs in suspensions of both soils, but it was especially efficient with bioremediated soil, causing a 62% loss of the total PAH content. An inhibition of biodegradation was observed with the high-molecular-weight PAHs pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene in the untreated soil, possibly due to competition effects with other solubilized PAHs present at relatively high concentrations. We suggest that nonionic surfactants may improve bioremediation performance with soils that have previously undergone extensive bioremediation to enrich for a slowly desorbing profile.     

Microrheology: new methods to approach the functional properties of food

Three configurations have been developed to improve the understanding of structural element interactions in food material during deformation. The three configurations combine an inverted confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM) and a cell that can apply to the sample a specific deformation: continuous shear, linear oscillatory shear and biaxial extension (compression).In the continuous shear and oscillatory shear configurations (OSCs), a zero-velocity plane is created in the sample by moving two plates in opposite direction, maintaining stable observation conditions of the structural behaviour under deformation. The OSC allows simultaneous application of CSLM and diffusing wave spectroscopy, a multiple light scattering technique. The third configuration (compression configuration) allows observation at a stagnation point during rheometric measurements. The configurations accept semi-liquid products (dressing, sauces, dairy products, etc.) for investigations in area such as aggregation, gelation, interactions at interface, coalescence, break-up.     

The trend of reduced hop‐content in Pilsner‐type beer in Germany. A change in taste?

A time series analysis of the development of bitterness units (BU) of a collective of 1,202 Pilsner beer samples analysed between 1983 and 2013 shows a small but statistically significant decline from values of around 30 BU in the 1980s to values of around 27 in the last years. The results confirm a trend to lower hopped Pilsner beers, which could derive from economic pressures on the breweries combined with a lack of regulations, or a change in consumer preference. So–called Pilsner beers with extremely low BU values are judged as a being misleading to the consumer, which is an offence against European food law. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling