Current Nutrition & Food Science - Volume 15, Issue 3, 2019

Unripe grape juice (verjuice) may offer health benefits, including the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The presence of bioactive compounds in verjuice influences blood pressure, inflammatory markers, oxidative stress, endothelial function, fatty streak formation and glycemic level. Studies have shown that the bioactive compounds also affect serum lipid profile, raising LDL cholesterol under certain circumstances. The health-promoting effects of verjuice have been investigated through human and animal trials. This review paper provides a comprehensive summary of the literature on the pharmacological and phytochemical properties of green grape juice. Further research on this juice is needed to quantify the phytochemical composition and support the current findings. Furthermore, future studies are needed to determine the exact amount of verjuice required to exhibit the optimal health effects on humans, as this is currently unknown.

Background: Sweet cherries are one of the most appreciated fruits worldwide as well as one of the great sources of several active substances, as phytochemical compounds (carotenoids, serotonin, melatonin and phenolic compounds) as well as in nutritive compounds (sugars and organic acids). Accumulating research demonstrate that their supplementation in our daily diet can contradict oxidative stress, mitigating or even attenuating chronic diseases, as cancerous processes, antiinflammatory- related disorders, diabetes, and neurological and cardiovascular pathologies. Therefore, the aims of this review are to present an overview on the effects of sweet cherries as health promotors, giving emphasis to the health benefits of their bioactive compounds, particularly their antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-neurodegeneration, anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular effects. Methods: Research and online content about sweet cherry fruits is reviewed. The information available has been read several times to avoid inconsistencies. In addition, according what we read, original figures were done and added to facilitate understanding and to enrich the paper. Results: In this review, a total of 202 original reports were used. In respect to health benefits, it is possible to confirm by several studies that, in fact, the consumption of sweet cherries has positive impacts in human health, owing to their wealthy and vast constitution, particularly in phenolic compounds, vitamins and carotenoids whose health properties were already documented. Conclusion: The findings of this review support the evidence that sweet cherries can be applied in pharmaceutical and food formulations, since they are able to diminish free radical species and proinflammatory markers, preventing and/ or ameliorating oxidative-stress disorders.

Background: Utilization of wild legumes has received prime importance in the recent past to compensate the scarcity of protein-rich foods as well as to tackle the protein energy malnutrition. Ripened split beans of Canavalia maritima devoid of seed coat and testa serve as traditional nutraceutical source for the coastal dwellers of Southwest India. Objective: The present study projects proximal and functional attributes of uncooked and cooked ripened split beans of C. maritima to be used in the preparation of functional foods. Methods: Proximal properties (moisture, crude protein, total lipids, crude fibre, carbohydrates and calorific value) and functional properties (protein solubility, gelation capacity, water-absorption, oilabsorption, emulsion qualities and foam qualities) of split beans were evaluated by standard methods. Results: Cooking did not significantly changed the crude protein, total lipids, ash, carbohydrates and calorific value, while it significantly increased the crude fibre. The protein solubility, water-absorption capacity, foam capacity and foam stability were significantly higher in uncooked than cooked beans. The cooked beans were superior to uncooked beans in least gelation concentration, low oil-absorption capacity, emulsion activity and emulsion stability. Conclusion: The functional properties of split bean flours were influenced by the proximal components like crude protein, total lipids and crude fibre. The energy-rich ripened split beans of C. maritima can serve as a new potential source for production of value added functional foods owing to their rich protein, rich carbohydrates, low-lipid and potential bioactive attributes.

Background: Doogh is a typical Iranian beverage based on fermented milk. The common salt used for Doogh is NaCl. Addition of salt in Doogh can take place before or after fermentation. The type of salt (NaCl or NaCl/KCl) and the sequence of salt addition in Doogh production can have significant impacts on biochemical characteristics of this product. Methods: Nine probiotic Doogh treatments containing two probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis BB at the level of 107 cfu.mL-1) along with Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, different salt percentages (0.5 and/or 1% (w/w)) in two ratios of NaCl/KCl (100:0 or 50:50) were prepared. Four samples were produced with the addition of salt before fermentation and four samples after fermentation (after cooling to 5°C). Apparent viscosity, phase separation, viability of probiotics and sensory properties of Doogh samples were studied during 21 days storage. Results: The results showed that samples containing 1% (w/w) salt (NaCl or NaCl:KCl) had higher phase separation than treatments with 0.5% (w/w). The partial substitution of NaCl with KCl had a positive influence on the viability of probiotics. Treatments with 1% (w/w) NaCl:KCl and 0.5% (w/w) NaCl:KCl added before fermentation showed the maximum viability of probiotics. Addition of salt decreased the apparent viscosity of Doogh due to decreasing mean particle size of the dispersion system. From sensory point of view, the treatment with 0.5% (w/w) NaCl and those with 0.5% (w/w) NaCl:KCl before fermentation showed the highest acceptance. Conclusion: A low-sodium Doogh with an acceptable probiotic viability was produced.

Background: Presently, consumers are becoming very much aware of the benefits of allying the concepts of pleasant food with health promoting properties. Hence, the market for healthier foods, functional foods or even nutraceuticals has risen in the past decades. Objective: This work was designed to assess the consumers’ possible acceptance of newly developed yogurts with functional ingredients. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 347 participants. The data were collected from October to December 2015 in the Central Region of Portugal. The questionnaires were applied by direct interview after verbally informed consent only to participants aged 18 or over. Results: The results obtained showed that more than 90% of the participants liked yogurts and consumed yogurts regularly (∼73%), either in the solid or liquid forms. The participants consumed functional yogurts, specifically for regulation of intestinal transit (∼46%) and for weight control (∼44%). When asked about the new yogurts with functional and detox properties, the participants indicated that they might be potential consumers of yogurts with the ability to eliminate toxins from the body (∼69%). In spite of recognizing the importance of adding ingredients with certain functionalities, like parsley, watercress or celery, the consumers manifested some doubts that those ingredients might combine well in yogurts. A regression model was deduced relating the possible consumption of detox yogurts with some behavioural aspects like physical exercise, consumption of functional foods and detox products. Conclusion: This work showed that selling yogurts with detox properties might be a good strategy because there might be a market for that type of product. However, without trying the samples and verifying the real taste of the products, the possible consumers have some doubts about the incorporation of certain ingredients, even though recognizing their roles as important.

Background: The problem of micronutrient malnutrition is affecting millions of infants in the developing countries. One of the major issues that aggravates the problem is lack of appropriately processed complementary foods in which the bioavailability of the major micronutrients is improved. Methods: Teff, soybean and orange-fleshed sweet potato were separately processed into their respective flours and blended in a ratio of 70:20:10, respectively, to prepare household- and industrial-level complementary foods. The ingredients and developed complementary foods were analysed for their vitamin A, calcium, iron, zinc and phytate contents. Moreover, phytate: mineral molar ratios of calcium, iron and zinc in the complementary foods were calculated to determine their bioavailability. Results: The vitamin A values obtained in the complementary foods were appreciable; they were in the range of 91.89 to 160.97 μgRE/100 g. Phytate content of teff and soybean was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced by the household practices employed for processing them. However, the reduction was not significant (p > 0.05) in the household-level complementary foods because of the small quantity of germinated teff flours used. Calcium, iron and zinc compositions of all complementary foods closely met the recommended levels for 6 to 8 month-old infants. Phytate: mineral molar ratios for calcium and zinc in all complementary foods were below maximum recommended limits indicating their good bioavailability. In case of iron, these ratios were above the critical limit except that of the industriallevel complementary foods. Conclusion: Generally, complementary foods with improved compositions and bioavailability of the micronutrients analysed were developed from the teff-soybean-orange-fleshed sweet potato formulations.

Background: During frozen storage, the properties of vegetables are greatly influenced by storage conditions, especially temperature and time, even at low temperatures, suffering important quality attributes modification as a result of the action of biochemical activity, chemical and physical phenomena. The effect of freezing on common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and cowpea bean (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) processed under domestic processing conditions was evaluated to investigate the contents of resistant starch, oligosaccharides (raffinose and stachyose), phytate levels, protein digestibility and the inhibitory trypsin activity. Methods: The beans were cooked after different pre-soaking treatments and frozen (-20°C) for one, two and three weeks respectively. Results: A reduction was observed in the content of resistant starch by the use of the pre-soaking treatments; however, it increased significantly after freezing the samples from the treatments in which the soaking water was maintained and in which the cooked beans were frozen for 7 days. In the case of oligosaccharide content (raffinose and stachyose), cowpea beans had higher levels than the common beans, with changes in their values after 7 days of freezing. In the treatments in which the soaking water was discarded before cooking, raffinose and stachyose showed variable levels. In cowpea, the treatment in which the soaking water was not used in cooking showed a reduction in the content of phytate at 14 days of freezing, with inhibition of trypsin at 21 days compared with the initial time. Digestibility in all treatments was improved after freezing. Conclusion: The increase in resistant starch content, removal of phytate and trypsin inhibitors, and bean flatulence factors were significant in cooked beans after freezing between 14 and 21 days.

Background: Nowadays, the producers have great interest on the apirenic grapes cultivars due to acceptance by all markets, besides the adding value to the product. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of minimally processed seedless grapes of the Sweet Celebration cultivar using three different solutions for the final wash of the berries and the removal or not of the peduncle were evaluated during twelve days stored at 8°C. Methods: The ‘Sweet Celebration’ cultivar grapes were washed and selected. Then they were submitted to a pre-washing step in chlorine solution. The berries with and without peduncle were submitted to a final wash using three different solutions: potable water, sodium metabisulfite and chlorine dissolved in water at 4±1°C. The evaluations of the minimally processed grapes were performed at zero, three, six, nine and twelve days of storage. Results: The firmness of the fruit was not affected by the solutions applied in the final wash. In general, berries without peduncle had higher cumulative weight loss, when compared to berries with peduncle, except for the sodium metabisulfite solution samples. The results suggest that water can be used for the final wash of the berries with peduncle as there was a lower weight loss of these fruits. The results with the other solutions applied and the sodium metabisulfite solution for the berries without peduncle were equivalent. Conclusion: The findings recommend use water as final wash solution to maintaining fruit quality of Sweet Celebration’ cultivar grapes when the peduncle is not removed.

Background: Diet and nutrition are major determinants of public health and are associated with a large number of diseases. Therefore, in order to plan actions to promote global health, it is crucial to understand people’s food choices. Objective: The aim of this study was the development and validation of a new instrument, a questionnaire to measure psycho-social motivations associated with food choices and eating practices. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken on a non-probabilistic sample of 382 adult participants. The questionnaires were applied after informed consent only to adults (aged 18 or over) and the data were collected from January to April 2017 among the Portuguese population. The analysis has been conducted to explore the item-item correlation and the reliability of this new instrument. Results: The results indicated satisfactory correlations between the items of the different variables, except for Variable D (Social and cultural motivations) that did not show strong and significant correlations for almost any items. Considering all the items in each of the variables studied, Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.32 for the marketing and commercial motivations to 0.64 for the economical and availability motivations. When some items were removed from the variables, the values of Cronbach’s alpha increased and ranged from 0.66 for social and cultural motivations to 0.79 for health motivations. Conclusion: This work suggested that this questionnaire could be considered a suitable tool for exploring food choice determinants.

Background: Different factors are known to affect the different physiochemical properties of bee's honey including the floral origin and climate. Objective: The aim of this article was to investigate the effect of floral origin and altitude on the concentration of vitamin C and A. Methods: Ten Ziziphus honey samples were collected from two altitudes; 113 and 511 meters. Twenty-five Acacia honey samples were included in this study from five altitudes; 14, 113, 317, 576 and 2247 meters above sea level. Vitamin C was measured by redox titration and vitamin A was estimated using the Carr-price reaction and spectrophotometer. Results: The mean± SD of vitamin C in the Ziziphus and Acacia honey samples were 239.2± 91.5 and 260.4± 81.1 mg\100g, respectively. Vitamin A mean value± SD in the Ziziphus and Acacia honey were 0.088± 0.126 and 0.062± 0.126 mg\ 100g, respectively. Concerning the effect of altitude, there was significant increase in vitamin C concentration in ziziphus honey with the increase of the altitude (p- value= 0.027), while an insignificant decrease was obtained in the case of vitamin A. Regarding the effect of altitude on the concentration of vitamin C in the Acacia honey, there was significant increase in the honey from the altitude of 2247 compared to the honey from all the other altitudes. Vitamin A concentration in the Acacia honey from the altitude 2247 was insignificantly decreased compared to the honey from all the other altitudes (p- value > 0.05). Conclusion: The floral origin insignificantly affected the concentration of vitamin C and A. The altitude significantly affected the concentration of vitamin C irrespective of the floral origin.